Pope Should Resign for "Not Being Truthful" on Sex Abuse, Massachusetts Pastor Says

Boston TV channel WCVB reports that a Massachusetts priest who previously withheld funds from his neighboring Springfield diocese until it defrocked an abusive priest has called for Pope Benedict XVI to resign because "he is not being truthful" about clerical sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.

Rev. James Scahill says that due to his parish's opposition to priest child-abusers he has lived in fear, with his stomach in knots, for the last eight years. "But when a person comes to the point of not being afraid to die, how can you then possibly fear what anyone or any institution will do to you?" This link includes the WCVB video. WCVB's written account follows, minus some self-indicting criticism from the bishop of Springfield:

The uproar over the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal is reaching a new level -- a call for the pope's resignation coming from inside the church.

That call comes from Massachusetts -- the epicenter of the abuse scandal in the United States. An East Longmeadow priest is demanding action from the Vatican.

It is not the first time the Rev. James Scahill has criticized the Pope or the church hierarchy. But this time he minced no words and left nothing to anyones imagination.

"The pope should step down if he's not prepared to embrace the truth relative to this matter," said Scahill. "I would think he is not being truthful."

In his eight years at St. Michael's Church, Scahill has withheld money from the Diocese until Richard Lavigne was defrocked and has accused church leaders of ineptitude.

"By placing these weak men in further temptation, they frankly were as culpable of the victimization as the victimizer," he said.

Some say Scahill has been disobedient.

"The church will not have myopic obedience from me like the myopic obedience of the soldiers of Hitler," he said. "There is nothing more prolife than the better protection of children from exploitation of any kind from anyone, and yet this church has remained patently silent about this."

His sermon on Sunday was neither surprising nor out of character.

"They couldn't help but rise to their feet and applaud him for his bravery," Sister Betty Broughan said.

"We had 1,700 families. We're up to 2,300 in just eight years when other churches are closing," said Patti Baran, of St. Michael's.

"Of course I'm afraid. My stomach has been jumping off and on for eight years. Of course I'm afraid. But when a person comes to the point of not being afraid to die, how can you then possibly fear what anyone or any institution will do to you?" Scahill said.