Maybe we should begin the process of recognizing Virginia's legislature as the radicalized followers of this long-radicalized cleric, and treating them as such.

Is the Catholic Church always referenced using a feminine pronoun or do they reserve that for when they're addressing a scandal?

Are any nuns implicated in the current sex abuse scandal?

I just think it's a little curious that the Pope assigns a femenine identity to an evil perpetrated by so many men within the "Church".

I wonder what "her/his" penance will be.

"I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured."

You could certainly undo some of the wrong by liquidating your assets and giving the proceeds to the poor, declaring yourself extremely fallible, and admitting there exists no proof at all of the existence of a deity.

"it strikes me as odd that Virginia lawmakers would approve a resolution to pay tribute to a radical cleric who happens to live in their state"

WHY?

Pope's bullshit sounds like the tobacco companies...

Is the Catholic Church always referenced using a feminine pronoun or do they reserve that for when they're addressing a scandal?

Bernard, you're right about the "bride of Christ" analogy. It comes from Paul's letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 5:22-32).

re: Virginia

all politics are local.

if only Robertson lived in Massachusetts...

Given that Robertson blamed Americans for 9/11, and in 2003, expressed his support for a terrorist attack on the U.S. State Department

I could be reading this all wrong, but, it seems to me that the Catholic Church is apologizing for the first level of harm, the rapes, something they are not directly responsible for while apologies are completely absent on the next level, the harboring and sheltering of their criminal "employees", something the Church is directly responsible for.

In a responsible world, the Church should be expressing compassion and sorrow for the rapes and then absolute guilt for the far more serious crime, of hiding and otherwise shielding those "employees" from secular correction which allowed similar grievances to recur.

It reflects a complete failure of the Catholic Church, that they cannot protect their own from predators within, an extension of the present US health care failure. I wonder if it comes from their proclivity to assess simple tasks in order to assuage a person's guilt as a part of their ritualized and private confessions.

Hmmm ... I guess they can't fire a Pope (?) Has one ever resigned? I suppose in true Republican style (as Benedict is equivalent to) fashion, he will just dig in and tell everyone to go to hell about this.

Robertson - We should continue to use that typical sobriquet for Islamist fanatics, "radical cleric", for such as he.

Feminine: Sophia, "Wisdom", is also as feminine. I wish there was more veneration of Her.

The unspoken Benedict clause: "I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured, so that's what I'm going to do -- nothing."

The only damn thing this or any church is ever sorry about is getting caught. Go read Matthew 23 and then tell me there is ANYTHING your god(s) despise more than a hypocrite. Bride of Christ indeed.

Yeah, this sounds real contrite coming on the heels of his condemnation of the Irish Catholics with respect to their involvement with pedophilia.

I'd suggest he clean his own house before showing his face in public again.

The fnialization of a marriage, religion and politics. Pat Robertson's wrath will be unbearable if the honeymoon does not go well.

neil b: Celestine V retired after about 5 month. Was supposed to be a place-holder, complete misfit for the job, realized it and left. Apocryphal statement was that he hoped being Pope hadn't ruined his chances of getting into Heaven.

@ neil b.

One of Sully's readers gives some history for your question:

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/03/can-the-pope-be-removed-ctd.html

growing up catholic, i often heard it referred to as "holy mother, the church."
as a recovering catholic, i've often referred to it by other names.

""You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated," the pope told Irish victims and their families."

Wonderful, thanks for the apology. Now can your church please stop interfering in our attempts to pass health care reform in this country? Or the international community's attempts to make birth control more available to the poor? Ok, thanks, bye.

Apologies are one hell (or is it "heaven"?) of a lot cheaper than reparations. As for apologising to the Irish... Probably doesn't want to talk about his complicity in the *German* scandal, where he was covering for priests long before he was Pope. Meet the Archbiishop Rat:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/world/europe/19church.html?scp=1&sq=Nicholas%20Kulish%20and%20Katrin%20Bennhold&st=cse

It was interesting when Pat Robertson was running for president and the press (remember the days of the liberal msm, which actually took its job seriously) fact checked his resume. I don’t remember all the details, but the bank board turned out to be a citizens advisory board, the Oxford graduate program turned out to be a 3 week summer program, his first kid was born less than 9 months after he was married (and was not premature), and his combat record was highly exaggerated.
The combat thing goes deeper. Pat Robertson was on a troop ship headed for Korea via Japan with Pete McCloskey and a bunch of other Marine second lieutenants when Robertson reportedly bragged he would be getting off the ship in Japan, courtesy of his dad, a U. S. Senator. The other Marines called bull shit, saying Uncle Sam owned his ass and he was headed for combat, but sure enough when the ship got to Japan Robertson got off. The majority of his Korean combat service consisted of serving as the “liquor supply officer”, flying between Japan and Korea with carrying written orders and booze for the brass in on official valise. McCloskey later publicly charged that Robertson had pulled strings to duck combat. Robertson sued for defamation and ran up McCloskey’s legal bills before dropping the suit on grounds he was too busy running for president.
Can’t the Virginia legislature find anyone better to honor?

"It is understandable that you find it hard to forgive or be reconciled with the Church," Benedict continued. "In her name, I openly express the shame and remorse that we all feel."

Words. There was a time, I seem to remember, when men of honor atoned with more than words for personal failures or great harm caused by institutions they led. I am not suggesting that seppuku is appropriate, but I cannot think of any Catholic prelate who has suffered anything more in the current scandal than a little embarrassment, sometimes followed by a lateral transfer to a sinecure in Rome. Ordinary men and women are fired every day for small infractions that no one would compare to covering up and enabling child rape. But cardinals and bishops are in a different class altogether. The way they skate past accountability, you'd almost think they were bankers.

Priests are men like others. They are human beings. So they are subject to the weakness that human nature involves. I do not either condemn or absolve anybody, I only answer quoting Jesus’ words. “ Whoever is free from sin, cast the first stones”.
The book I have recently written deepens many moral issues. I want to draw it to your attention, as you may be interested in it. The title is “Travels of the Mind” and it is available at http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TravelsOfTheMind.html
If you have any questions, I am most willing to offer my views on this topic.
Ettore Grillo