The BBC's "Secret Vatican Edict"
Sigh. It seems like, when it comes to religious reporting, it’s getting harder to tell the difference between laziness, incompetence, and malice on the part of the UK press. Most recently, it’s the BBC Panorama special on the ostensible unveiling of a “secret vatican document” issued by Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict) supposedly sheltering clerical abusers of children and adolescents.
Amy Wellborn does a nice job of treating the topic, including the fact that the “secret” document in question had been openly published after being issued in 2001, and also taking a look at what the document actually says.
Now, there certainly are a few cardinal bishops who have held on to their positions by supressing evidence of their wrongdoing, and done a lot of damage to their flock and the Church besides (those familiar with the landscape of the Catholic Church in the US probably know who I’m talking about). If only some investigative journalists would pay some attention to them rather than trying to manufacture news about Cardinal Ratzinger…