Priest Calls for Pope to Resign, Applauded at Mass

One Massachusetts priest says Pope Benedict is lying when he says the Vatican hasn’t covered up the sexual abuse of children. In four sermons over the weekend, Rev. James Scahill called on Benedict to resign over the scandal, the Longmeadow Republican reports. “There were standing ovations at two Masses, and applause at the others,” he says, though he adds that one parishioner, “booed very boisterously and called me a heretic.”

The sermons earned a quick rebuke from his local bishop, but Scahill didn’t back down yesterday, telling ABC News that “the cover-up … has been systemic.” He says that even small parishes have known about the abuse for decades, so Benedict is almost certainly “not being truthful” when he professes ignorance. He said he wouldn't back down from his statements, even though he feared the church would punish him. “I’ve only spoken the truth.” (More Pope Benedict XVI stories.)