Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D., president of the Ruth Institute, described the importance of the late Pope Benedict XVI, especially on the clergy sex abuse issue.
“Between 2011 and 2012 alone, Pope Benedict laicized nearly 400 priests. By one estimate, he was responsible for the laicization of over 800 priests between 2004 and 2014, and he disciplined many more.”
“He also met with abuse victims during his many trips around the world. Faith Hakesley was raped by her parish priest as a teenager. Her meeting with Benedict was deeply meaningful for her and continues to bear spiritual fruit. She currently writes the ‘Ask a Survivor’ blog for the Ruth Institute.”
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Hakesley said: “At our historic meeting, Pope Benedict shared a life-changing message of hope, one especially needed in today’s world. In my eyes, Pope Benedict’s greatest achievement was bearing witness to the light even in the darkest of times.”
Morse added: “As is fitting for a man of his intellectual gifts and stature, the Pope Emeritus wrote an important essay in 2019 on what led to the clergy sex abuse crisis — the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s and its influence within Catholic seminary formation.”
Around the same time, the Ruth Institute published Senior Research Associate Fr. Paul Sullins’ study on clergy abuse, which questioned: “Is the date of ordination related to clergy sex abuse? Are some ordination classes systematically more likely to have predators?”
Morse noted: “His findings were consistent with Pope Benedict’s claim that the Sexual Revolution was an important factor.”
Regarding Pope Benedict’s 2013 resignation, Morse said: “I, like many, wish he had not resigned. He steadfastly maintained that he was not pressured to do so. One would have to doubt the honesty and intelligence of a lifetime to believe he was either dissembling or confused at that late date. No, he intended to resign.”
“Perhaps Benedict saw that he could not root out all the rot in the Church. Perhaps he thought a better path for him, given his personality, skills, and situation, was the path of prayer and trust in Divine Providence.”
“Throughout his life, Joseph Ratzinger loved the truth the way other men love power. As Catholics, we have a long tradition of believing that holy people can continue to do good on earth after their deaths. May it be so for our treasured Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.”
See also: Dr. Morse’s National Catholic Register article on the passing of Benedict XVI.
About the Ruth Institute
The Ruth Institute is a global non-profit organization, leading an international interfaith coalition to defend the family and build a civilization of love.
Jennifer Roback Morse has a Ph.D. in economics and has taught at Yale and George Mason University. She is the author of The Sexual State and Love and Economics – It Takes a Family to Raise a Village.
To get more information or schedule an interview with Dr. Morse, contact media@ruthinstitute.org.
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