The essay on sexual abuse by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI merits attention for its analysis of the ecclesial and cultural trends that led to the sexual abuse crisis. But the manner of the essay’s publication also illuminates the current compromised state of Catholic media.
Columnist Ross Douthat of the The New York Times wrote that “portions of the document were edifying, but there was little edifying in its reception. It was passed first to conservative Catholic outlets, whose palpable Benedict nostalgia was soon matched by fierce criticism from Francis partisans.”
