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256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 23, 2018
[Francis] had long been known in his native Argentina as a manipulative politician and a skilful self-presenter. Behind the mask of a genial man of the people, Pope Francis has consolidated his position as a dictator who rules by fear and has allied himself with the most corrupt elements in the Vatican to prevent and reverse the reforms that were expected of him.
"According to data presented by the CDF to the UN Human Rights Commission in January 2014, Benedict XVI had defrocked or suspended more than 800 priests for past sexual abuse between 2009 and 2012. In 2011, the CDF sent a letter to the world’s bishops’ conferences, asking them to adopt stringent guidelines on how to respond to allegations that were to include assistance to victims, protection of minors, education of future priests and religious, and collaboration with civil authorities. The guidelines required bishops to forward all new cases to civil authorities and to the CDF. In a March 2010 pastoral letter to Ireland’s Catholics, Benedict criticised the lax application of the Church’s laws by bishops, whose failures had “seriously undermined your credibility and effectiveness.” He noted a “misguided tendency” against applying canonical punishments that he said was due to “misinterpretations of the Second Vatican Council.”(On this topic, see also: Pope Benedict XVI and the Sexual Abuse Crisis: Working for Reform and Renewal Our Sunday Visitor, 2010).
... in the name of his favourite theme, “mercy,” Francis decisively broke with the Ratzinger/Benedict programme of reform, reducing the penalty for priest abusers to “a lifetime of prayer” and restrictions on celebrating Mass. In February 2017 it was revealed that Francis had “quietly reduced sanctions against a handful of paedophile priests, applying his vision of a merciful church even to its worst offenders.The author cites Associated Press’s Nicole Winfield's article, "Pope quietly trims sanctions for sex abusers seeking mercy", noting that Francis has "surrounded himself with cardinal advisers who botched handling abuse cases in their archdioceses." Moreover,
... Francis scrapped the [sexual abuse advisory] commission’s proposed tribunal for bishops who botch abuse cases following legal objections from the congregation. The commission’s other major initiative — a guideline template to help dioceses develop policies to fight abuse and safeguard children — is gathering dust. The Vatican never sent the template to bishops’ conferences, as the commission had sought, or even linked it to its main abuse-resource website.(It's also worth noting that, post-publication of The Dictator Pope, this topic has resurfaced this past week with yet another instance of Francis' inattention and disregard to the gravity of the issue, failing to either read or act on an eight page letter from a victim detailing his abuse and a diocese' inaction).