It is a sad day for Catholicism

He did it! Pope Benedict XVI beatified Pope John Paul II on May 1, 2011, which makes this unworthy pope one step removed from being canonized a saint. It is indeed a sad day for Catholicism.

Many ask, what was the rush to sainthood and especially for someone who was complicit in the cover-up of clergy sexual abuse crimes for over 25 years? As a lifelong Catholic who still attends Mass on Sundays and the church's Holy Days of obligation, it deeply saddens me to protest so vehemently against the hierarchy of my church, a church that is in disrepair, a church, in spite of its ills, I still dearly love.

For the sake of argument, I will give the Vatican the benefit of doubt by admitting all sinners can repent and become declared saints, since saints like "Paul," who was both a Jew and a Roman citizen, persecuted Christians and sought their deaths prior to his miraculous conversion and ultimate rise to sainthood.

Since John Paul blatantly harbored clergy sexual abusers during his tenure as pope and actively participated in the cover-up of crimes committed against humanity, is there any evidence that, like Saint Paul, John Paul repented, excluding the confessional, for the crimes he committed?  If so, Pope Benedict should come forward and tell the world just how John Paul repented, which would validate his nomination to sainthood.

Of course, this will never happen since, over the centuries, the hierarchy of the Church of Rome has manipulated the secrecy and confidentiality of the confessional to protect predator priests while ignoring the needs of victims. John Paul unscrupulously allowed, and further perpetuated, this horrendous practice to continue on his "watch" as pope.

I implore the church's bishops and cardinals, and especially the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), to challenge: (1) any further action by Pope Benedict XVI in canonizing Pope John Paul II as a saint; and (2) Benedict's handling (mishandling) of the clergy sexual abuse crisis confronting Catholicism today.

This will be difficult and will take a great deal of new found moral courage for the bishops and cardinals to speak out about the clergy sexual abuse crisis since a great majority of them, if not all, were co-conspirators with Pope John Paul II in the cover-up of crimes committed against humankind.

It is time for Pope Benedict XVI to deliver the following statement to the world from his balcony at the Vatican: “We, the popes, cardinals, bishops, and priests of the Roman Catholic Church, have been grievously and sinfully wrong since the very beginning of the church's existence in protecting predator priests at the expense of the victims of clergy sexual abuse.

“Humbly, in the presence of God, we openly admit our culpability, and in professing our shame, ask for forgiveness from God and all humanity for the unspeakable sins we have committed against victimized children and their families throughout our history.”

It is indeed a sad day for Catholicism. My church is broken! It is in need of renewal! It is in need of transparency! It is in need of reformation!

Robert W. Wilford 

"Cradle to Grave Catholic"

Alachua, Fla.