VATICAN CITY — Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has emerged from his self-imposed silence inside the Vatican walls to publish a lengthy letter to Piergiorgio Odifredd, one of Italy’s most well-known atheists. In it, he denies having covered up for sexually abusive priests and discusses everything from evolution to the figure of Jesus Christ. Excerpts of the letter were published Tuesday by La Repubblica.
The former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger headed the Vatican office responsible for abuse cases and was pope when the scandal erupted in 2010.
In his letter, Benedict denies personal responsibility, saying: “I never tried to cover these things up.” “That the power of evil penetrated so far into the interior world of the faith is a suffering that we must bear, but at the same time we must do everything to prevent it from repeating,” he wrote.
