Failure to deal with these issues, as well as other“symptomatic” failures, is partly the reason why Pope Benedict XVIis stepping down, Porteous Wood argues.
RT: One of the growing allegations right now is thatthere is some sort of influential gay network operating within theVatican. What do you think? If there is anything behind that? Isthat why the pope is leaving, or is there no mileage in that atall?
Keith Porteous Wood: I think, it is symptomatic of thefact that he has lost control, which that whole episode over hisbutler showed that very strongly. But, I think there are severalother important factors playing as well. I’m certainly aware of twomajor issues over child abuses that are going to come up and aregoing to be very, very hard for the Vatican to swallow. Because itis not like it is the child abuse, bad though that is, is the issue- it is actually that the finger of blame is going to be pointed atthe Vatican for having obstructed justice and all the secret filesthat it won’t release.
So, that is going to look very, very bad, and I think peoplewill get less and less tolerant about that. And the Vatican hasshown no real sign of actually coming to terms with this, ofputting its hands up and really atoning for its past sins, andbeing much more open and dealing more properly with victims andactually getting the people who perpetrated these crimes turnedover to the police.
RT: It begs the question: why not? Why have they notdone that?
KPW: The Vatican has forever been an organizationthat is only interested in its own power and preserving its ownreputation and its own finances - it has always been thus. But withthe kind off communications we have today, they can’t get away withthat any longer. And the stronger regulatory powers as well - thatis also coming around to hit them quite big time on moneylaundering. I mean, there have been rumors for ages about the waythe internal banking of the Vatican works. In fact, they could noteven get the credit cards working in their museums. It's sohumiliating, and so symbolic of the complete breakdown of thesystem.
They just can’t get away with that any longer either. And it isvery interesting that his grace, even though he was right at theend, that Cardinal O’Brien from the UK said that he thought it wasabout time that priests should be allowed to marry, which may alsobe behind some of the child abuse problems. I think the time hascome: the church has to make up its own mind, it is not for me totell it, but I think an awful lot of people are thinking it is timethey ought to be much more open to modern thinking over issues likethese, and also their obsession with contraception is so damagingin the third world to women, to women’s health, to overpopulation.That is something that is so quiet and not talked about, but it iscatastrophic in its implications.
RT: What does the Church need to do now, to change allthe negative things you’re talking about?
KPW: The outgoing pope has to pad the college ofcardinals with people who are not more conservative then he is, soit is going to be pretty hard. But if they’ve got any sense theyshould look and see that the vast majority of Catholics don’tactually agree with all the positions of the sensitive socialissues. And I think, they actually need to look at their owncongregation, and start taking some signs from that, and be muchmore sensible over issues like contraception, homosexuality,abortion - all those kinds off things - and actually be open tosecular justice on matters such as child abuse and moneylaundering.
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