Is This Proof The Vatican Specifically Told Churches To Cover Up Pedophile Priests?

Is a 1997 letter from the Vatican to Ireland’s church officials — which insists Catholic leaders there should not cooperate with state authorities on child molestation allegations — the “smoking gun” needed to show the Catholic Church worked to cover up the sins of pedophile priests? The letter, signed by Pope John Paul II’s then-diplomat to Ireland, Archbishop Luciano Storero, instructs Irish bishops to “meticulously” follow canon law, which demands such matters be handled internally by the church. And all along, particularly when dealing with American scandals, the Vatican has been claiming it never told its network of churches to refuse to work with government investigators. Huh. Says Colm O’Gorman, director of the Irish chapter of human rights watchdog Amnesty International: “The letter is of huge international significance, because it shows that the Vatican’s intention is to prevent reporting of abuse to criminal authorities. And if that instruction applied here, it applied everywhere.” We’ve said it before: Pope Benedict XVI Is The Leader of the World’s Largest Pedophilia Ring. If it weren’t for a nearly naked man on a cross, these people would be locked up.