james t kirk

I'm a Catholic.

At least I was baptised a Catholic. Never been to a Sunday service in my life. Been to a few weddings, a few funerals. Meh. I guess they would call me "lapsed"

But I fail to see the need for him to resign.

Was there a sex scandal in the Catholic church? You betcha. Was he complicit in it. Well no. He tried to cover it up. (I suppose you could argue that by trying to cover it up he created an environment within the church in which pedophile priests could operate without fear of the law. (It's not like a cover-up has never been done before.) Are sex scandals going to continue to occur in the Catholic church? You betcha. Are sex scandals going to continue in all religions? You betcha. Will they continue to try to cover it up? For sure. (Though hopefully they will think twice.)

In my humble opinion, those who have committed the crime should be brought before the courts of the land where the crimes were committed and face justice.

Those who covered up the crime should face the same treatment. If the pope committed a crime then he should face justice like any other citizen. If he has to go to jail - then he should go to jail like any other criminal.

It would then be up to the Church, or him, as to his fate.

But as it stands right now - he hasn't been convicted of anything by any court in any land. Until that happens, there is no need for him to resign (unless he feels otherwise.)

As to dragging the Catholic Church into the light, and into the 21'st century - that's a whole different thread.