{"id":1702,"date":"2010-03-31T08:09:01","date_gmt":"2010-03-31T16:09:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/?p=1702"},"modified":"2019-06-07T17:49:26","modified_gmt":"2019-06-08T01:49:26","slug":"pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Benedict&#8217;s Apology for Sex Abuse Seems Hollow"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_1710\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1710\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1710\" title=\"sinead-o'connor-priest-outfit\" src=\"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2010\/03\/sinead-oconnor-priest-outfit-300x228.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"228\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2010\/03\/sinead-oconnor-priest-outfit-300x228.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2010\/03\/sinead-oconnor-priest-outfit.jpg 304w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1710\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sinead O&#39;Conner<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>By <a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2010\/03\/25\/AR2010032502363.html\">Sinead O&#8217;Connor<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>March 31, 2010<\/p>\n<p>When I was a child, Ireland was a Catholic theocracy. If a bishop  came walking down the street, people would move to make a path for him.  If a bishop attended a national sporting event, the team would kneel to  kiss his ring. If someone made a mistake, instead of saying, &#8220;Nobody&#8217;s  perfect,&#8221; we said, &#8220;Ah sure, it could happen to a bishop.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The expression was more accurate  than we knew. This month, Pope Benedict XVI wrote\u00a0a pastoral letter of apology &#8212; of sorts &#8212; to  Ireland to atone for decades of sexual abuse of minors by priests whom  those children were supposed to trust. To many people in my homeland,  the pope&#8217;s letter is an insult not only to our intelligence, but to our  faith and to our country. To understand why, one must realize that we  Irish endured a brutal brand of Catholicism that revolved around the  humiliation of children.<\/p>\n<p>I experienced  this personally. When I was a young girl, my mother &#8212; an abusive,  less-than-perfect parent &#8212; encouraged me to shoplift. After being  caught once too often, I spent 18 months in An Grian\u00e1n Training Centre,  an institution in Dublin for girls with behavioral problems, at the  recommendation of a social worker. An Grian\u00e1n was one of the  now-infamous church-sponsored &#8220;Magdalene laundries,&#8221; which housed  pregnant teenagers and uncooperative young women. We worked in the  basement, washing priests&#8217; clothes in sinks with cold water and bars of  soap. We studied math and typing. We had limited contact with our  families. We earned no wages. One of the nuns, at least, was kind to me  and gave me my first guitar.<\/p>\n<p><!--more-->An Grian\u00e1n was a product of the  Irish government&#8217;s relationship with the Vatican &#8212; the church had a  &#8220;special position&#8221; codified in our constitution until 1972. As recently  as 2007,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/idUSL2441042620070524\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">98 percent<\/a> of Irish schools were run by the Catholic  Church. But schools for troubled youth have been rife with\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/world\/2009\/may\/20\/irish-catholic-schools-child-abuse-claims\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">barbaric corporal punishments, psychological abuse and  sexual abuse<\/a>. In October 2005, a report sponsored by the Irish  government identified\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20121108123130\/http:\/\/www.rte.ie\/news\/2005\/1025\/ferns.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">more than 100 allegations of sexual abuse<\/a> by priests  in Ferns, a small town 70 miles south of Dublin, between 1962 and 2002.  Accused priests weren&#8217;t investigated by police; they were deemed to be  suffering a &#8220;moral&#8221; problem. In 2009, a\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/idUSTRE5AP2IG20091126\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">similar report<\/a> implicated Dublin archbishops in  hiding sexual abuse scandals between 1975 and 2004.<\/p>\n<p>Why was such  criminal behavior tolerated? The &#8220;very prominent role which the Church  has played in Irish life is the very reason why abuses by a minority of  its members were allowed to go unchecked,&#8221; the 2009 report said.<\/p>\n<p>Despite  the church&#8217;s long entanglement with the Irish government, Pope  Benedict&#8217;s so-called apology takes no responsibility for the  transgressions of Irish priests. His letter states that &#8220;the Church in  Ireland must first acknowledge before the Lord and before others the  serious sins committed against defenceless children.&#8221; What about the  Vatican&#8217;s complicity in those sins?<\/p>\n<p>Benedict&#8217;s apology gives the  impression that he heard about abuse only recently, and it presents him  as a fellow victim: &#8220;I can only share in the dismay and the sense of  betrayal that so many of you have experienced on learning of these  sinful and criminal acts and the way Church authorities in Ireland dealt  with them.&#8221; But Benedict&#8217;sinfamous 2001 letter to bishops around the world  ordered them to keep sexual abuse allegations secret under threat of  excommunication &#8212; updating a noxious church policy, expressed in a\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/americas\/3157859.stm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">1962 document<\/a>, that both priests accused of sex  crimes and their victims &#8220;observe the strictest secret&#8221; and be  &#8220;restrained by a perpetual silence.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Benedict, then known as  Joseph Ratzinger, was a cardinal when he wrote that letter. Now that he  sits in Saint Peter&#8217;s chair, are we to believe that his position has  changed? And are we to take comfort in last week&#8217;s revelations that, in  1996, he declined to defrock a priest who may have molested as many as  200\u00a0deaf boys in Wisconsin?<\/p>\n<p>Benedict&#8217;s apology  states that his concern is &#8220;above all, to bring healing to the victims.&#8221;  Yet he denies them the one thing that might bring them healing &#8212; a  full confession from the Vatican that it has covered up abuse and is now  trying to cover up the cover up. Astonishingly, he invites Catholics  &#8220;to offer up your fasting, your prayer, your reading of Scripture and  your works of mercy in order to obtain the grace of healing and renewal  for the Church in Ireland.&#8221; Even more astonishing, he suggests that  Ireland&#8217;s victims can find healing by getting closer to the church &#8212;  the same church that has demanded oaths of silence from molested  children, as occurred\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/uk_news\/northern_ireland\/foyle_and_west\/8577717.stm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in 1975 in the case of Father Brendan Smyth,<\/a> an  Irish priest later jailed for repeated sexual offenses. After we stopped  laughing, many of us in Ireland recognized the idea that we needed the  church to get closer to Jesus as blasphemy.<\/p>\n<p>To Irish Catholics,  Benedict&#8217;s implication &#8212; Irish sexual abuse is an Irish problem &#8212; is  both arrogant and blasphemous. The Vatican is acting as though it  doesn&#8217;t believe in a God who watches. The very people who say they are  the keepers of the Holy Spirit are stamping all over everything the Holy  Spirit truly is. Benedict criminally misrepresents the God we adore. We  all know in our bones that the Holy Spirit is truth. That&#8217;s how we can  tell that Christ is not with these people who so frequently invoke Him.<\/p>\n<p>Irish  Catholics are in a dysfunctional relationship with an abusive  organization. The pope must take responsibility for the actions of his  subordinates. If Catholic priests are abusing children, it is Rome, not  Dublin, that must answer for it with a full confession and in a criminal  investigation. Until it does, all good Catholics &#8212; even little old  ladies who go to church every Sunday, not just protest singers like me  whom the Vatican can easily ignore &#8212; should avoid Mass. In Ireland, it  is time we separated our God from our religion, and our faith from its  alleged leaders.<\/p>\n<p>Almost 18 years ago,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=iYw8JR1N90o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">I tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II<\/a> on an  episode of &#8220;Saturday Night Live.&#8221; Many people did not understand the  protest &#8212; the next week, the show&#8217;s guest host, actor Joe Pesci,  commented that, had he been there, &#8220;I would have gave her such a smack.&#8221;  I knew my action would cause trouble, but I wanted to force a  conversation where there was a need for one; that is part of being an  artist. All I regretted was that people assumed I didn&#8217;t believe in God.  That&#8217;s not the case at all. I&#8217;m Catholic by birth and culture and would  be the first at the church door if the Vatican offered sincere  reconciliation.<\/p>\n<p>As Ireland withstands Rome&#8217;s offensive apology  while\u00a0an Irish bishop resigns, I ask Americans to  understand why an Irish Catholic woman who survived child abuse would  want to rip up the pope&#8217;s picture. And whether Irish Catholics, because  we daren&#8217;t say &#8220;we deserve better,&#8221; should be treated as though we  deserve less.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sinead O&#8217;Connor is a musician and mother of four. She lives in Dublin.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The expression was more accurate than we knew. This month, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a pastoral letter of apology &#8212; of sorts &#8212; to Ireland to atone for decades of sexual abuse of minors by priests whom those children were supposed to trust. To many people in my homeland, the pope&#8217;s letter is an insult not only to our intelligence, but to our faith and to our country. To understand why, one must realize that we Irish endured a brutal brand of Catholicism that revolved around the humiliation of children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6413,"featured_media":1710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pope Benedict&#039;s Apology for Sex Abuse Seems Hollow - Fog City Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pope Benedict&#039;s Apology for Sex Abuse Seems Hollow - Fog City Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The expression was more accurate than we knew. This month, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a pastoral letter of apology -- of sorts -- to Ireland to atone for decades of sexual abuse of minors by priests whom those children were supposed to trust. To many people in my homeland, the pope&#039;s letter is an insult not only to our intelligence, but to our faith and to our country. To understand why, one must realize that we Irish endured a brutal brand of Catholicism that revolved around the humiliation of children.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fog City Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fogcityjournal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-03-31T16:09:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-06-08T01:49:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2010\/03\/sinead-oconnor-priest-outfit.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"304\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"232\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"FCJ Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@fogcityjournal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@fogcityjournal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"FCJ Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"FCJ Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/4e9da13336b29013e7c520909eaefe91\"},\"headline\":\"Pope Benedict&#8217;s Apology for Sex Abuse Seems Hollow\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-03-31T16:09:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-08T01:49:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/\"},\"wordCount\":1230,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2010\/03\/sinead-oconnor-priest-outfit.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Opinion\",\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/\",\"name\":\"Pope Benedict's Apology for Sex Abuse Seems Hollow - Fog City Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2010\/03\/sinead-oconnor-priest-outfit.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-03-31T16:09:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-08T01:49:26+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2010\/03\/sinead-oconnor-priest-outfit.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2010\/03\/sinead-oconnor-priest-outfit.jpg\",\"width\":\"304\",\"height\":\"232\",\"caption\":\"Sinead O'Conner\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pope Benedict&#8217;s Apology for Sex Abuse Seems Hollow\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/\",\"name\":\"Fog City Journal\",\"description\":\"San Francisco Bay Area News, Arts, Culture and Politics\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Fog City Journal\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2019\/06\/fcj-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2019\/06\/fcj-logo.jpg\",\"width\":307,\"height\":102,\"caption\":\"Fog City Journal\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fogcityjournal\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/fogcityjournal\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/fogcityjournal\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/4e9da13336b29013e7c520909eaefe91\",\"name\":\"FCJ Editor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6b7486c7cbeaed9aeaffdfbc23bb5a167e52577cac3b3caea08093ece2364af?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6b7486c7cbeaed9aeaffdfbc23bb5a167e52577cac3b3caea08093ece2364af?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"FCJ Editor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/author\/editor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pope Benedict's Apology for Sex Abuse Seems Hollow - Fog City Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pope Benedict's Apology for Sex Abuse Seems Hollow - Fog City Journal","og_description":"The expression was more accurate than we knew. This month, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a pastoral letter of apology -- of sorts -- to Ireland to atone for decades of sexual abuse of minors by priests whom those children were supposed to trust. To many people in my homeland, the pope's letter is an insult not only to our intelligence, but to our faith and to our country. To understand why, one must realize that we Irish endured a brutal brand of Catholicism that revolved around the humiliation of children.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/","og_site_name":"Fog City Journal","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fogcityjournal\/","article_published_time":"2010-03-31T16:09:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-06-08T01:49:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":304,"height":232,"url":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2010\/03\/sinead-oconnor-priest-outfit.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"FCJ Editor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@fogcityjournal","twitter_site":"@fogcityjournal","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"FCJ Editor","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/"},"author":{"name":"FCJ Editor","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/4e9da13336b29013e7c520909eaefe91"},"headline":"Pope Benedict&#8217;s Apology for Sex Abuse Seems Hollow","datePublished":"2010-03-31T16:09:01+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-08T01:49:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/"},"wordCount":1230,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2010\/03\/sinead-oconnor-priest-outfit.jpg","articleSection":["Opinion","Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/","url":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/","name":"Pope Benedict's Apology for Sex Abuse Seems Hollow - Fog City Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2010\/03\/sinead-oconnor-priest-outfit.jpg","datePublished":"2010-03-31T16:09:01+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-08T01:49:26+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2010\/03\/sinead-oconnor-priest-outfit.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2010\/03\/sinead-oconnor-priest-outfit.jpg","width":"304","height":"232","caption":"Sinead O'Conner"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1702\/pope-benedicts-apology-for-sex-abuse-seems-hollow\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pope Benedict&#8217;s Apology for Sex Abuse Seems Hollow"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/","name":"Fog City Journal","description":"San Francisco Bay Area News, Arts, Culture and Politics","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#organization","name":"Fog City Journal","url":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2019\/06\/fcj-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/plugins\/2019\/06\/fcj-logo.jpg","width":307,"height":102,"caption":"Fog City Journal"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fogcityjournal\/","https:\/\/x.com\/fogcityjournal","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/fogcityjournal"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/4e9da13336b29013e7c520909eaefe91","name":"FCJ Editor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6b7486c7cbeaed9aeaffdfbc23bb5a167e52577cac3b3caea08093ece2364af?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6b7486c7cbeaed9aeaffdfbc23bb5a167e52577cac3b3caea08093ece2364af?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","caption":"FCJ Editor"},"url":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/author\/editor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6413"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}