Hans Küng puts a smackdown on Pope Benedict XVI in an Open Letter to the Bishops

Now it’s on. Küng has used the recent sex abuse scandal to launch a much broader attack on the Pope, saying in this open letter that the
Church is in the worst credibility crisis since Reformation (The Irish Times – Fri, Apr 16, 2010).  The letter is a catalog of complaints against the Pope, from his dealings with the Pius X Society, to the celebration of the Tridentine Mass to how he has dealt with “a scandal crying out to heaven”, the abus of young people and the subsequent cover-up.

While I am sure the Pope will dismiss Küng since, well…he’s Hans Küng, many other Roman Catholics will not, and some may join him. The legal forces outside combined with denunciation from within the Church will be a difficult thing for the Pope to bear.