• So, Pope Benedict’s got 99 problems, and a cover-up is one. The Pope is in the middle of one massive modern scandal, one which has already tapped his shoulder personally. He should consider his next move carefully, because he’s looking just like Richard Nixon right now. Here’s how (we ganked most of this from an Atlantic article, by the way, but we figure they won’t mind):

First way: What did he know, anyway?

• Nixon While he wasn’t involved with
  the Watergate scandal directly,
  his White House denied the scandal even after finding out, claiming
  they had “no knowledge” of what took place that fateful night.
• Benedict While nobody’s claiming he committed any abuse himself, he reportedly found out about the scandal while a cardinal. The Vatican claims “no knowledge”; sound familiar?

Second way: The cover-up

• It’s not the crime that gets you… it’s the cover up.
• Former President Richard Nixon • Regarding the Watergate scandal, which ultimately was a fairly minor case in the grand scheme of things. If he came clean early and fixed the problem, he would’ve been fine! Similarly, the Pope could’ve saved himself a lot of grief if he had dealt with the incidents on his watch – a Wisconsin sex abuse case and a German priest’s case (which, admittedly, he may not have known about). The lesson here? Deal with things when first happen; they hurt less.

Third way: Shooting the messenger

• Nixon During the scandal, Nixon held a very negative opinion of the press, claiming “the press is the enemy” to his long-suffering aides.
• Pope Over the weekend, the dude said he won’t be “intimidated by petty gossip.” His aides made even more direct attacks on the media.

Fourth way: Thinking you’re infallible

• The Pope is believed to be infallible; Nixon only thought he was. One thing that Pope Benedict has over Richard Nixon is papal infallibility, a concept that many misunderstand. He’s infallible on specific dogmatic matters – matters which probably don’t include sex scandals. Nixon, on the other hand, famously claimed in 1977 that “When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal.” Too bad the Supreme Court disagreed with him. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • Permalink