Jesus Christ, Benedict said in his homily, guides the faithful “toward the courage that doesn’t let us be intimidated by the chatting of dominant opinions, towards patience that supports others.’’
Palm Sunday commemorates Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and is the start of the church’s Holy Week, which includes the Good Friday reenactment of Christ’s crucifixion and death and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.
This year, the most solemn week on the Catholic Church’s liturgical calendar has been stained by a clerical abuse scandal that has spread across Europe to the pope’s native Germany.
In London yesterday, a few dozen people gathered outside Westminster Cathedral to demand the pope resign. Demonstrators carried placards saying “Pope? Nope!’’ and “Don’t Turn a Blind Eye.’’
The Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, insisted the pope wouldn’t — and shouldn’t — quit. “In fact, it is the other way around,’’ he told BBC television.
“He is the one above all else in Rome that has tackled this thing head on.’’
In Austria, where several cases have come out in recent weeks, the archbishop of Vienna announced the creation of a church-funded but clergy-free and independent commission to look into Austrian abuse claims.
It will be run by a woman, the former governor of Styria province, and is not meant to take the place of a possible state-run investigative commission, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn told public broadcaster ORF yesterday.
And in Switzerland, President Doris Leuthard told the weekly SonntagsZeitung that Switzerland should consider creating a central registry of pedophile priests to prevent them from coming into contact with more children.
Church leaders say about 60 people have reported to be victims of priest abuse in Switzerland.
“It doesn’t make any difference if the perpetrators are from the secular or spiritual world. Both violate Swiss law,’’ she said.
“It’s important that pedophile priests, like teachers and other guardians, don’t come into contact with children.’’
