But barely 72 hours after the pontiff flew home, the president of Portugal declared that he would sign a bill allowing gay and lesbian couples to wed. With Spain having granted such rights five years earlier, the move turned the entire Iberian Peninsula, historically a Catholic stronghold, into an unlikely hitching post for homosexuals.
Empty spaces in the pews abound. The clerical sex-abuse scandal has stripped the church of much of its credibility and moral authority in parts of Europe (and the United States as well). When it comes to high-profile social issues such as gay rights and abortion, the church has lost battle after battle.
Weekly Mass attendance is at an all-time low in Western Europe. Only 1 in 5 Catholics in Spain report going to a service once a week. In Germany, it's 1 in 6, and fewer than 1 in 10 in France, according to research by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
The sex abuse scandal, with its reports of Vatican coverups and insensitive treatment of victims, has robbed the church of its moral standing in the eyes of many. In recent days, the only cardinals in Rome to speak out on the need for the global church to address the issue have been Americans, reinforcing the impression that the church hierarchy in Europe still refuses to acknowledge the severity of the problem.
March 10, 2013 | By Henry Chu, Los Angeles Times
Is dit nodig om enigiets verder by te voeg? Of wat sê jy Cornelius?
Jaco Fourie
Kommentaar
Miskien is dit nie algemeen bekend nie maar daar word beweer dat die vorige pous se uittrede oa te doen het met sy onvermoë om sekere persone in die Vatikaan te beheer. Dit is na bewering katolieke in hoë poste wat seks beoefen met mans en seuns van buite. Rome verkeer in 'n ernstige krisis maar 'n mens wil vertrou dat daar nog sterk opgetree gaan word anders sal morele standaarde in die wêreld net verder agteruitgaan.
George