Historic Accusations Against Catholic Church in Pope Benedict’s New Book

Read time: 3 minutes 25 seconds

Many believers across the world have questioned the direction of the Catholic Church in recent years regarding sexuality and human identity.

In a recently released book by the late Pope Benedict XVI, scathing accusations of homosexual activity in seminaries and the embracing of pornography rocked the Vatican.

The book released posthumously was done so because Benedict did not want to endure the backlash from the church should it be released while he was alive.

“For my part, in life, I no longer want to publish anything. The fury of the circles against me in Germany is so strong that the appearance of my every word immediately causes a murderous shouting from them. I want to spare myself and Christendom this,” he wrote.

Much of the criticism within the book is levelled against Pope Francis, the current leader of the Catholic Church. Benedict believed that he is leading the church into a more progressive atmosphere and adopting the social and cultural ideologies of the left.

According to translations of the book from its original Italian, Benedict wrote that this push to the left has allowed for a transformation to take place within the church that leaves behind its once-biblical principles for those of the world.

Those now attending seminaries, Benedict wrote, are no longer being trained up in the ways of God, but instead of ideologies and worldly ideas.

“In the context of the meeting of the presidents of the episcopal conferences of the whole work with Pope Francis,” he wrote, “it is at heart above all the question of priestly life and also that of seminaries. As regards the problem of preparation for priestly ministry in seminaries, we note in fact a vast collapse of the current form of this preparation.”

Perhaps the most striking of accusations Benedict levelled at the church was the transformation of its seminaries, many of which are located within the U.S., into places of homosexual activity.

“In various seminaries homosexual ‘clubs’ were formed which acted more or less openly and which clearly transformed the atmosphere in the seminaries. In a seminary in southern Germany, candidates for the priesthood and candidates for the lay office of pastoral referent lived together.”

These accusations certainly explain why so many within the leadership of the church have taken stances against or remaining neutral on topics like abortion and LGBTQ-driven agendas.

Pro-life priests such as Father Frank Pavone have even found themselves at odds with the Vatican and suffered severe consequences for standing on biblical principle.

Recently, Pope Francis said in an interview with the Associated Press that “being homosexual isn’t a crime,” while stating that it was still considered a sin.

That is depending on where one lives, however. There are 67 countries the AP reported that do in fact list homosexuality as a crime, and almost a dozen of these countries may impose the death penalty if convicted.

Benedict’s writings address more the affirmation and acceptance of homosexuality, which runs contrary to the Bible’s teaching, not the love of those who live in sin.

The more conservative views that Benedict held has led to his writing that his teachings are no longer being read within the church and that they are “dangerous.”

“In not a few seminaries, students caught reading my books are considered unworthy for the priesthood. My books are concealed as dangerous literature and are read only in hiding.”

According to leading Vatican analyst John Allen, the release of this book and several others like it has given rise to “impressions of a mounting civil war in the Church following the death of Benedict XVI.”

This rising schism within the Catholic Church highlights the need for continuous prayer over its leadership and comfort to the millions of members of the church across the world.

Standing on biblical principles is the only way for any Christian church to survive in a world that the devil looks to corrupt, as the Bible is God’s living Word for Christians to equip and fight back against the forces of darkness. {eoa}

Bring Charisma magazine home with a subscription today!

James Lasher is Staff Writer for Charisma Media.