The Pope’s New Zero Tolerance Policy Provides Hope for Rape and Sex Abuse Victims in Connecticut

This week’s press conference by Pope Francis’ point man on Catholic Church sex abuse provides hope and the real possibility for accountability and monetary relief for victims of sex abuse by Catholic Church staff and clergy. As the top Stamford and Greenwich Connecticut personal injury attorneys and lawyers could confirm, these concerns flow from the Vatican all the way to sex abuse victims in Stamford, Darien, Greenwich and other Connecticut cities who still may be haunted by decades-old sex assaults.

http://www.lawblogs.net/go/the-popes-new-zero-tolerance-policy-provides-hope-for-rape-and-sex-abuse-victims-in-connecticut 

The Irish Christian Brothers and the permanent stain of child sex abuse

Here is my crash course in the Irish Christian Brothers sex abuse and cover-up scandal and bankruptcy: In order to understand the current Irish Christian Brothers debacle, we need only look north. As I have repeated (and as my Church history professors seared into my cortex in countless seminary courses):  

https://patrickjwall.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/icb-history-101-the-irish-christian-brothers-and-the-permament-stain-of-child-sex-abuse/ 

Children from St Francis Boys Home in Shefford sent on to a life of ‘torture’ in Australia

BOYS as young as nine were shipped out from a former Catholic boys home to a life of abuse and 
torture in Australia. Bedfordshire Police are currently investigating claims of physical and sexual abuse at St Francis Boys Home in Shefford. The home was closed in 1973, in part due to concerns of abuse allegations. During the investigation police heard that some boys were sent to Bindoon, a notorious town in Western Australia.

http://www.bedfordshire-news.co.uk/Children-St-Francis-Boys-Home-Shefford-sent-life/story-25701174-detail/story.html

Lists of Accused Priests Released by Dioceses and Religious Institutes

This page gathers the lists of accused priests (see below) that have been released by dioceses and religious orders, since the first such list was posted by the Diocese of Tucson on June 21, 2002. Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas [3] was co-adjutor bishop at the time, and the Dallas charter's goal of transparency was cited as the rationale for the release.

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/AtAGlance/diocesan_and_order_lists.htm 

Principal slammed for failing to report student sex abuse

A ROYAL Commission has found Toowoomba Catholic primary school principal Terence Hayes failed to report serious child sex abuse allegations against one of his staff members to police.  Pedophile teacher Gerard Vincent Byrnes was in 2010 sentenced to 10 years imprisonment after pleading guilty to 44 child sexual abuse offences against 13 girls who were then aged between eight and 10 years. 

http://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/principal-failed-his-students-more-than-225m-paid/2541294/ 

Chile rattles Berlin with film about defrocked priests

A Chilean film showing defrocked priests protected by the Catholic Church and a Guatemalan film about the hard lives of Mayan coffee-farmers are making waves at the Berlin film festival. Chilean director Pablo Larraín made The Club after he realized some paedophile priests had collaborated with the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet or were ordinary criminals, and had never paid for their misdeeds.

http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/181709/chile-rattles-berlin-with-film-about-defrocked-pries 

Procedural unfairness should never trump children's suffering

Any journalist who's been in the job for a while will have experienced a Grievance Labyrinth Letter. I dread them so much. They plop out of the mailbox, corpulent with injustice. Some of them run to 30 pages. They are often copied to a bewildering array of recipients; the Prime Minister, the local mayor, David Gonski, the Pope.

http://www.watoday.com.au/comment/procedural-unfairness-should-never-trump-childrens-suffering-20150213-13e0ie.html 

Dublin archbishop appalled by delay in applying child safety guidelines

Archbishop says he is 'seriously concerned' by the slow way religious congregations have responded. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin has said he would seek assurances from religious congregations operating in his diocese that they are rigidly following child protection guidelines after a fresh round of audits raised serious concerns.

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/02/13/dublin-archbishop-appalled-by-delay-in-applying-child-safety-guidelines/ 

Abuse victims share message of hope, healing

Hope, survival and justice were the themes of Thursday's Julie Valentine Luncheon. Two victims of sexual abuse shared their stories at the annual fundraiser for Julie Valentine Center's sexual assault- and child abuse-prevention programs, and their prevailing message was that victims should never shoulder the blame for their abusers' actions.

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/2015/02/12/abuse-victims-share-message-hope-healing/23309561/ 

Cardinals given update on child sex abuse commission

Vatican City, February 13 - As an extraordinary consistory of cardinals continued two days of meetings Friday at the Vatican, child sexual abuse was on the agenda with an update on a commission appointed by Pope Francis on the protection of minors, according to a Vatican press release.

http://www.gazzettadelsud.it/news/english/128966/Cardinals-given-update-on-child-sex-abuse-commission.html 

Jehovah’s Witnesses use 1st Amendment to hide child sex abuse claims

The leadership of the Jehovah’s Witnesses – one of the world’s most insular religions – for 25 years has instructed its elders to keep cases of child sexual abuse secret from law enforcement and members of their own congregations, according to an examination of thousands of pages of documents in recent cases.

http://www.revealnews.org/article/jehovahs-witnesses-use-1st-amendment-to-hide-child-sex-abuse-claims/?utm_source=CIR&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=facebook 

A papal call for mercy, and a warning against a 'closed caste' church

Pope Francis today delivered an impassioned defense of what has become a leitmotif of his pontificate – the church of mercy that reaches out to the marginalized vs. the church of rules that closes itself into a “closed caste.”
The pope’s homily was addressed to a group of new cardinals gathered for Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.

http://www.johnthavis.com/ 

Abuse inquiry should cover whole UK, Home Affairs Committee says

The government is being urged to extend the scope of the child sexual abuse inquiry to cover the whole of the UK - rather than just England and Wales. The investigation should cover Scotland and Northern Ireland, including claims of abuse at Kincora Boys' Home in Belfast in the 1970s, a Home Affairs Committee report said.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-31449341 

Rabbi charged in secret videotaping case had videos of more than 150 women

A rabbi accused of secretly videotaping nude women at a Jewish ritual bath recorded more than 150 women, prosecutors said during a meeting with victims, the first specifics they have given on the scope of the man's recording.
When prosecutors charged Barry Freundel with voyeurism late last year, they based the accusations on recordings of six women but indicated more had been filmed.

http://www.tribtown.com/view/story/2cc31af1c8134f158d52853ac234cdae/US--Rabbi-Arrested 

Letter from Rome Where Is the Vatican 'Transparency' on Abuse?

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors held its first full plenary session in Rome last week under the direction of Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley. They told journalists at a briefing on Saturday they were formulating suggestions for how Pope Francis should make bishops accountable for implementing protection guidelines.

https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/letter-rome-17?key=a74e8aa5b18c76a88410b6543550eff9&utm_content=buffer7a426&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer 

Former Okanagan pastor who was religiously motivated to beat his children sent to prison

The “controlling and manipulative” Okanagan man believed he had the blessing of the Bible when he beat his children. But a judge says that doesn’t excuse criminal conduct and he sentenced the man to 4.5 years imprisonment. The assaults took place in the family home at or near Armstrong between October 2009 and August 2012 when the three children were between the ages of 18 months and four years. 

http://globalnews.ca/news/1827468/former-okanagan-pastor-who-was-religiously-motivated-to-beat-his-children-sent-to-prison/ 

Australia's most senior rabbi sent text message calling abuse victims' father a 'lunatic',

Australia's most senior rabbi sent a text message calling a father whose children were molested at Melbourne's Yeshivah College a "lunatic" who neglected his children, the royal commission into child sexual abuse has heard.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-13/top-rabbi-labelled-abuse-victims-father-a-lunatic/6092974 

Anonymous are about to wage war on the rich and powerful covering up child sex abuse in 'nightmarish' Friday 13th protest

They will target 'politicians, royals, media, religious figures, singers, actors, men and women'. Masked protesters will march on the homes of “elite” paedophiles and public figures they claim have been involved in the “nightmarish” cover-up of child sex abuse.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/anonymous-to-march-against-those-they-suspect-are-covering-up-for-alleged-elite-child-sex-abusers-10043541.html 

Abusive pastor sentenced

An Armstrong father will spend 4 1/2 years behind bars after he beat his family in the name of God. The 42-year-old man, called L.I. to protect the identity of the victims, was convicted of seven counts against his 30-year-old wife and children in 2009 and 2010. These include six counts of committing assault and one count of sexual assault.

http://www.castanet.net/news/Vernon/132828/Abusive-pastor-sentenced 

Cardinals & Pope Must Get Past Their Delusions

The rising waves from government investigations, from Australia, to the UK, to Minneapolis USA and elsewhere are hammering the Vatican Titanic. And the international priest abuse survivor group, SNAP, has finally called for US Federal officials to pursue a national investigation, like Australia has and the UK is just beginning. 

http://christiancatholicism.com/cardinals-pope-must-get-past-their-delusions/ 

Conceptualising Responses to Institutional Abuse of Children

Institutional abuse of children was ‘discovered’ in the 1980s, with concept diffusion in the 1990s. I explain why it emerged as a social problem and what factors triggered a response by authorities that ‘something must be done’ to address it. Some have argued that the 1980s was a time of a ‘moral panic’ about child sexual abuse, in particular, that fears of abuse were exaggerated and misdirected. Drawing from 19 major cases in Canada and Australia and those in other countries, I find that a moral panic analysis is not apt in understanding responses to institutional abuse.

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/CICrimJust/2014/10.pdf 

Royal commission to be debated in Parliament

The creation of a royal commission into children in detention will be debated in the Senate, after the release of the Human Rights Commission's damning inquiry into children in immigration detention. The Greens have won support from some Senate crossbenchers for proposed legislation for a royal commission into Australia's treatment of children in immigration detention. 

http://www.watoday.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/royal-commission-to-be-debated-in-parliament-20150214-13eeww.html 

Survivors Say Education Key To Preventing Child Sexual Abuse

Every 90 seconds a child is sexually assaulted in America.  That’s according to the National Center for Victims of Crime.  90% know the perpetrator in some way. Childhood sexual abuse is an insidious crime, shrouded in secrecy. As KLCC’s Tiffany Eckert reports, adult survivors are asking Oregon lawmakers to break the silence with Erin's Law, an education bill bent toward prevention.  
When Carolee Horning was 13 she was an altar girl at a Catholic church in Reedsport.

http://ijpr.org/post/survivors-say-education-key-preventing-child-sexual-abuse 

U.N. Report: Vatican Policies Allowed Priests To Rape Children

Pope Francis meets bishops at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Wednesday. The United Nations heavily criticized the Vatican on Wednesday for what it said was a systematic adoption of policies allowing priests to rape and sexually abuse tens of thousands of children.

https://theageofblasphemy.wordpress.com/category/catholic-cover-up/ 

Royal Commission criticises Catholic Church response to abuse victims

THE Sydney Catholic Archdiocese had more than $1 billion in assets by 2013, but spent only a fraction on compensation to victims of child sexual abuse, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has found.
The archdiocese recorded annual surpluses of between $3.5 million and $43.9 million between 2002 and 2007 while it ‘‘vigorously’’ fought a Towards Healing claim and legal case by child sexual abuse victim John Ellis. During that period the archdiocese paid only $1.2 million in compensation to victims.

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/2877179/royal-commission-criticises-catholic-church-response-to-abuse-victims/?src=rss 

A priest committed child-sex crimes, and was later appointed as the deputy to a bishop

A retired senior Catholic priest from western Sydney, Father Richard Cattell, is scheduled to appear in Sydney's Penrith District Court on 20 February 2015 for sentencing on child-sex charges. The offences were committed against an altar boy in the 1980s. In the early 1990s, Father Richard Cattell was appointed as the Vicar-General of Sydney's Parramatta diocese, helping to administer this diocese for Bishop Bede Heather.

http://brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/282 

Decades of Yeshiva Rapes Shock Aussies

Aided by a communal pressure not to go to secular authorities, some Orthodox Jewish boys in Australia say their sexual abuse has gone unpunished for years.

It is as disgusting as it is ironic that the mikveh—the ritual baths where Jews and converts to Judaism immerse to purify themselves—was one of the places Manny Waks says he was sexually abused as an Orthodox Jewish teenager in Melbourne.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/12/decades-of-yeshiva-faycare-rape-shocks-aussies.html 

Both parties guilty of detention 'abuse'

How ironic, and indeed, how tragic, that one of the rare manifestations of such bipartisanship is that it is alleged that both the present Coalition government and its Labor predecessor have violated the human rights of children in detention, leading to extreme levels of suffering and distress ("Hundreds of children victims of 'abuse' ", February 12).

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-letters/both-parties-guilty-of-detention-abuse-20150212-13cr5y.html

Making waves in the Holy See, Pope Francis goes global with new Cardinals

Pope Francis, is shaking up Vatican city. The pontiff is set to confirm 15 new Cardinals this weekend. It is his selection which is making waves as he is shifting the emphasis away from Rome. Though European Cardinals remain in the majority, they are losing influence. It comes soon after the pontiff lashed out at top Roman Catholic officials denouncing their ‘lust for power’.

http://www.euronews.com/2015/02/11/making-waves-in-the-holy-see-pope-francis-goes-global-with-new-cardinals/ 

Boarding School Pedophile Out on Parole in Saskatchewan After One Year Served.

Sentenced to three years for the sexual abuse of boys at a Saskatchewan residential school more than 50 years ago, convicted pedophile Paul Leroux has been granted full parole after serving just one year, CBC News reports. The victims were all students at Beauval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan during the 1970s, according to CBC News. Among other factors, the judge took into account Leroux’s age, which was 73 at the time, and gave him concurrent, rather than consecutive, sentences, radio station CKOM reported after the 2013 sentencing. Leroux’s victims did not buy it. 

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/02/12/boarding-school-pedophile-out-parole-saskatchewan-after-one-year-served-159173 

Mother pleads guilty to murdering of her six newborns

A mother has pleaded guilty to charges she murdered six of her newborn babies over the course of a decade and stuffed their bodies in cardboard boxes in the garage of her former home.

https://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/26282282/mother-pleads-guilty-to-murdering-of-her-six-newborns/ 

Chinese Catholics Seek Answers to Bishop’s Fate

HONG KONG — For the better part of the last 60 years, Bishop Cosma Shi Enxiang was imprisoned in Chinese jails and labor camps. For the last 14, he was held without charge in a secret location. His offense: refusing to renounce his loyalty to the Roman Catholic Church, which ordained him in 1947.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/14/world/asia/chinese-catholics-seek-answers-to-fate-of-bishop-cosma-shi-enxiang.html?emc=edit_tnt_20150213&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y&_r=0 

Archbishop says he is ‘seriously concerned’ about latest reports into child protection

ARCHBISHOP DIARMUID MARTIN has said he is ‘seriously concerned’ by the latest reports into how the Catholic Church in Ireland has safeguarded children.
Archbishop Martin, who is the leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, said it was “appalling” to read about the delays by some major religious congregations in implementing guidelines to look after children.

http://www.thejournal.ie/catholic-church-franciscan-1930402-Feb2015/ 

German 'Bling Bishop' lands new Vatican job

Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, who became known internationally as the 'Bishop of bling,' was forced to resign last March amid a public outcry over the lavish renovation of his headquarters, including €213,000 spent on a fish tank. After several months living in an upscale 180-square-metre apartment in Regensburg, he is believed to have already relocated to Rome to take up a specially created post preparing catechetical materials for bishops' conferences.

http://www.thelocal.de/20150210/german-bling-bishop-lands-new-vatican-job 

Lawyers claim priest had no right to remain in church house

A SHERIFF has been urged to give permission for the Catholic Church to evict a priest who is at the centre of a row with senior church figures. Father Matthew Despard, 50, is involved in a long-running dispute over a book he wrote alleging a gay mafia was operating at the top of the Church.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/lawyers-claim-priest-had-no-right-to-remain-in-church-house.118209491 

Did the British Establishment Cover Up a Political Pedophile Ring? A New Zealand Judge Will Decide

In July 1981 a young boy disappeared from Barnes, south-west London, as he made his way home from the crowds gathered to watch the wedding procession of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer. Months later, a man called the child's father, claiming to be a prostitute and saying he had information about the young boy's disappearance.

https://news.vice.com/article/did-the-british-establishment-cover-up-a-political-pedophile-ring-a-new-zealand-judge-will-decide 

Shattuck-St. Mary’s Part Three: Inside the mind of a predator

I give you two predators: One fictional. One real.The similarities will stun you. 
Lynn Seibel was convicted of sexually abusing six Shattuck-St. Mary’s students in 2013. He was sentenced to 52 months in prison. This deposition is a part of the victims’ civil case, which charges that Shattuck-St. Mary’s officials covered up child pornography and sexual abuse.

http://theworthyadversary.com/3349-shattuck-st-marys-part-three-inside-the-mind-of-a-predator 

New documentary highlights whistleblowers against clergy sexual abuse

I did what I did out of love for the church. I don’t have an axe to grind against the church,” said self-described whistleblower Fr. Ron Lemmert.  “… Our bad shepherds have done terrible deeds that have caused the sheep to scatter and now we’re reaping the results.”

http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/new-documentary-highlights-whistleblowers-against-clergy-sexual-abuse 

Franciscan Friars apologise to abuse victims for failing to safeguard children

The Franciscan Friars in Ireland (OFM) have apologised to abuse victims, as a new report is published. The Safeguarding of Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSCCCI) report - spanning a 45 year period from 1953 to 1998 - shows three friars were convicted by the courts, and also highlights failure on the part of the Franciscan Order to deal adequately with the complaints.

http://www.newstalk.com/Franciscan-Friars-report-OFM-Ireland-NBSCCCI-abuse-apology 

Pope Francis told to hand priests over to police as new Vatican child abuse commission starts work

Pope Francis should immediately hand over to the police all the Vatican documents on Catholic priests accused of sexually abusing children and “cast out the vipers” who are still being protected by the Church, a British survivor of clerical abuse said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/11394714/Pope-Francis-told-to-hand-priests-over-to-police-as-new-Vatican-child-abuse-commission-starts-work.html 

When Catholics dropped the Bible

The 25years... that I lived in the two catholic church orphanages... I never once saw... or read a Bible... The first time I ever saw a bible... was when my husband's mother gave me one... and that was for a Christmas present in 1996... I was 25year of age... going on to 26year old... Ann


The chilling sight of Norwegian mass-killer, Anders Behring Breivik, giving a fascist salute when he appeared in an Oslo court this week is symbolic of a worrying minority trend: in the face of a perceived threat from the complex pluralistic world we live in, a retreat by some into the fortress of narrow militant extremist ideology.

http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=31040#.VNxqJC4dlke 

Pope says memorize the beatitudes, assess your care for the needy

Christians should memorize not only the Ten Commandments but also the beatitudes, which Jesus taught as the path to true happiness, Pope Francis said.
At his weekly general audience Aug. 6, the pope said he was so serious about the need for Christians to know the text of the beatitudes from Matthew 5:3-12 -- "Blessed are the poor in spirit ..." -- that he would read each one out loud and have the crowd repeat it.

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1403277.htm 

Papal sexual abuse commission ‘developing processes’ of accountability

Somewhat cryptically hinting at possible new procedures for handling Catholic bishops who mishandle clergy sexual abuse, the Vatican commission advising Pope Francis on the issue says it is ‘developing processes to ensure accountability for everyone in the Church.’

https://voicefaithful.wordpress.com/2015/02/09/papal-sexual-abuse-commission-developing-processes-of-accountability-national-catholic-reporter/ 

Shock, surprise over Greenwich priest's suspension over child abuse allegations

Shock and surprise were the responses to the announcement that a priest with longtime roots in the community had been suspended over an alleged incident of sexual misconduct with a youngster that recently came to light. The Rev. Stephen DeLuca was removed from clerical duties this week by the Bridgeport Diocese, which includes Greenwich.

http://www.greenwichtime.com/local/article/Shock-surprise-over-Greenwich-priest-s-6065294.php 

Ex-priest given 19-year prison term for child sex abuse

A court in Canada has handed down a 19-year prison term to a defrocked Roman Catholic priest for sexually abusing children.  On Wednesday, Eric Dejaeger was sentenced to 19 years in jail for committing sex crimes against Inuit children in the distant Canadian community of Igloolik where he worked as a missionary around 35 years ago.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/02/05/396196/Expriest-given-19year-prison-term 

Victim's father renounced links with Chabad movement after family persecuted for going public about abuse, inquiry told

The father of three boys sexually abused at the Yeshivah Centre in Melbourne renounced the ultra-Orthodox Chabad movement after his family was persecuted for going public about the abuse, the child sexual abuse royal commission has been told.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/26186660/victims-father-renounced-links-with-chabad-movement-after-family-persecuted-for-going-public-about-abuse-inquiry-told/ 

Pope Francis: 'Everything possible must be done to rid the Church of the scourge of sexual abuse'

"Priority must not be given to any other kind of concern," says the pope. Pope Francis on Thursday ordered Roman Catholic bishops around the world to fully cooperate with a commission he set up to protect children from sexual abuse by clerics and to give the issue top priority even if it unearths new scandals.

http://www.jpost.com/Christian-News/Pope-Francis-Everything-possible-must-be-done-to-rid-the-Church-of-the-scourge-of-sexual-abuse-390104 

Rabbi asked son to conversation with pedophile David Hayman

ONE of Australia’s leading Orthodox rabbis has admitted asking his son to contact a convicted pedophile to confirm whether a conversation they had while the paedophile was molesting at a Jewish school in Sydney included a confession.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/rabbi-asked-son-to-conversation-with-pedophile-david-hayman/story-e6frg6n6-1227209092758?nk=a5aed0fa35bfc49501495ce6d1da3961 

Priest with strong Greenwich ties suspended for sexual abuse

The Bridgeport Diocese has suspended a priest with longstanding ties to Greenwich for an alleged incident of child abuse. Bishop Frank Caggiano released a letter late Wednesday afternoon informing diocese members that there was "credible evidence" that Stephen DeLuca committed one incident of child abuse more than 30 years ago.

http://www.greenwichtime.com/local/article/Priest-with-strong-Greenwich-ties-suspended-for-6063206.php 

Pope: 'Absolutely no place in ministry for those who abuse minors'

Pope Francis has written a letter to the leaders of the world's bishops' conferences and the various Catholic religious orders, asking them to cooperate fully with all initiatives to prevent sexual abuse of minors and to protect those vulnerable with "fairness and mercy."

http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/pope-absolutely-no-place-ministry-those-who-abuse-minors 

Romano: Impending freedom for priest in abuse scandal stuns victims

After all these years, the lie had begun to seem real. Chris McCafferty had convinced himself the past had been put to rest, and distant memories could no longer touch him.  This, of course, was never quite true. And all it took was a single phone call to plunge him back into a world of doubt, fear, shame and anger.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/romano-impending-freedom-for-priest-in-abuse-scandal-stuns-victims/2216431 

The Miracle Of Francis

One sub-theme of the Dish has long been my passionate, tortured relationship with the Catholic Church. This decade and a half exposed the unspeakable child abuse epidemic in the church, leaving me utterly unmoored and gutted. My faith life during all these years sputtered, lingered, and at times opened onto a dry, bleak wasteland. I quit blogging (at least) once before in 2005 – but the election of Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI ended my premature retirement. I knew Ratzinger’s work intimately, and had wrestled with it for years.

http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2015/02/06/the-miracle-of-francis/