Rome waited to ban pedophile priest
April 3, 2010 The future Pope Benedict XVI took over the abuse case of an
Arizona priest, then let it languish at the Vatican for years despite
repeated pleas from the bishop for the man to be removed from the priesthood,
according to church correspondence. Documents reviewed by The Associated Press
show that in 1990, members of a church tribunal found that the Reverend
Michael Teta in Arizona had molested children as far back as the late 1970s.
The panel deemed his behaviour - including allegations he abused two boys
in a confessional - almost "satanic". The tribunal referred his case to
then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would become pope in 2005. But it took 12
years from the time Ratzinger assumed control of the case in a signed letter
until Teta was formally removed from ministry, a step only the Vatican can
take. As abuse cases with the pontiff's fingerprints mushroom, Teta's case
and that of another Arizona priest cast further doubt on the church's
insistence that the future pope played no role in shielding pedophiles. Teta
was accused of engaging in abuse not long after his arrival at the Diocese of
Tucson, Arizona, in 1978. Among the allegations that would later be part
of settlements: He molested two boys, ages 7 and 9, Bishop Manuel Moreno
eventually was made aware of the allegations and held a church tribunal for
Teta, which determined "there is almost a satanic quality in his mode of
acting toward young men and boys". Teta was removed from ministry by the
bishop, but because the church's most severe punishment - laicisation - can
only
be handed down from Rome, he remained on the church payroll and was
working with young people outside the church.
_http://www.smh.com.au/world/rome-waited-to-ban-pedophile-priest-20100403-rkb7.html_
(http://www.smh.com.au/world/rome-waited-to-ban-pedophile-priest-20100403-rkb7.html)
