Church abuse scandal reaches pope's brother

[Christa]

It must be the devil again :eyes:

VATICAN CITY – Church abuse scandals in Germany have reached the older brother of Pope Benedict XVI and are creeping ever closer to the pontiff himself.

While there has been no suggestion of wrongdoing by Benedict, the launch of an inquiry by German Catholic officials after his brother admitted he slapped children years ago is stirring Vatican fears of a major crisis for the papacy.

Benedict, 82, was archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1982 when he was brought to the Vatican to head the body responsible for investigating abuse cases. During that time, he came under criticism for decreeing that even the most serious abuse cases must first be investigated internally.

/snip

Vatican officials have been unable to hide their alarm about the possible implications for the papacy.

"There is certainly the suspicion that there are some out there out to damage the church and the pope," said a Vatican official, speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Full article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100310/ap_on_re_eu/eu_germany_church_abuse