Pope Emeritus Benedict’s posthumous book revealed the church leader’s thoughts about multiple scandals the church has suffered over several decades regarding homosexuality, porn and pedophilia.
Benedict blamed the “sexual revolution” of the 1960s for a “collapse” of the Catholic church’s foundation on many teachings and the rampant sexual abuse discovered in later years.
The book was entrusted to Dr. Elio Guerriero, who also wrote Benedict’s biography, to be released only after the former pope’s death.
A posthumous book written by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the former head of the Catholic church, claimed that pornography, homosexual clubs and pedophilia had taken root within the church.
Benedict died on Dec. 31, 2022, at the age of 95 after struggling with a “respiratory illness” for several weeks. Nearly a month after his death, the Italian publishing company, Mondadori, released a series of works over the weekend entitled “What Is Christianity?” that contained theological essays written after Benedict stepped down from his position as pope in 2013, illustrating his concerns about issues of homosexuality, pedophilia and pornography in the church.
In the book, Benedict discusses a wide range of theological questions from communion, to the Catholic church’s history with Israel and the Jewish people, in addition to what he describes as “moral issues,” in the fifth chapter. Benedict discusses the effect that pornography has had on the church and expressed extreme displeasure that porn was often rampant in seminaries.
“A bishop, who had previously been rector, had allowed seminarians to be shown pornographic films, presumably with the intention of thereby enabling them to resist a behavior contrary to the faith,” Benedict wrote.
Pedophilia was also addressed in the book, providing some insight into Benedict’s perspective on the issue after he had long been criticized for not taking the concerns of sexual abuse in the church seriously enough. Benedict talked about conversations he had with victims of abuse, noting that one, in particular, had told him how a vicar had used the phrase “this is my body which is given for you,” which is used during communion.
“It is evident that that girl can no longer listen to the words of the consecration without terribly experiencing upon her all the suffering of the abuse,” the former pope said. “Indeed, we must urgently implore the Lord’s forgiveness and above all pray and beg him to teach us all to understand anew the greatness of his passion, of his sacrifice. And we must do everything to protect the gift of the Holy Eucharist from abuse.”
The book also mentioned “homosexual clubs,” specifically in the United States, that had grown in popularity among seminaries and noted that seminaries did not encourage their priests to remain abstinent in the traditional view of the priesthood, but instead “changed the atmosphere of the seminaries.” Benedict largely blamed the “collapse” of the foundation of the priestly vocation on the 1960s sexual revolution which resulted in “complete sexual freedom, which no longer tolerated any norm.”
The former pope also issued a warning against the more popular belief that all religions are morally equivalent, arguing that this erases the purpose of the Christian faith as being the sole way to obtain salvation. Benedict pointed out that the Christian faith must be viewed as “hodòs,” a Greek word for the “way.”
It was Benedict’s firm wish that the book be released after his death and entrusted its publication to Dr. Elio Guerriero, who also wrote Benedict’s biography, and was known for “his theological competence,” according to the book.
The Vatican did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
This story originally was published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.