Are the Pope, the Vatican, most of the hierarchy, and pretty much the Roman Catholic Church as a whole just a villainous mob ???

Recent statements by the Pope Francis about the world-wide priestly sex abuse scandal gives one serious reason to "DOUBT" the ability of the institutional Roman Catholic Church to speak responsibly on ANY matters involving morality  ---  a main element of and intrinsic to its "Magisterium"

The latest blast came from The Wall Street Journal last Friday ---  and it's a humdinger  ---   " ‘It Will Cause a Scandal.’ The Pope and a Trusted U.S. Cardinal Clash Over Sex-Abuse Crisis" [On-line title]  ---  "Sex-Abuse Crisis Splits Vatican." [Print edition title] 

Meanwhile also on Friday, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn released his most recent "list" of sexually abusive priests in his diocese  ---  the number of priests named by the Bishop Ordinary of Brooklyn and Queens as having been credibly charged with sexual abuse now stands at on hundred eight [108].....

According to the WSJ,  "The once-warm relationship between Pope Francis and Cardinal O’Malley has become strained over the Vatican’s stance on sex abuse...."  (Note: Until recently, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, a Franciscan from Boston, had been the Pope's front man with the American Bishops, Arch-Bishops and Cardinals  ---  as well as the man charged with looking into the sex-abuse scandal by priests and other Church officials in the United States.)

Here's the gist, or even better the "grist," of it from the lead paragraphs of the WSJ article by Francis X. Rocca:

"Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, chief adviser to Pope Francis on protecting children from sexual abuse, called a meeting with top papal aides in 2017, concerned the Vatican wasn’t living up to its promise of 'zero tolerance.'...   An appeals panel set up by the pope had reduced the punishments of a number of Catholic priests found guilty of abusing minors. In some cases, the panel canceled their dismissal from the priesthood and gave them short suspensions instead....   'If this gets out, it will cause a scandal,' Cardinal O’Malley told Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, in effect the pope’s prime minister, and other Vatican officials, according to a person present. No action was taken to address the issue....   The Catholic Church’s handling of the long-running crisis over clerical sex abuse has exposed fissures within its hierarchy. Activists and some church leaders hoped the Vatican would take a tougher stance on abuse under Pope Francis—and thought a meeting next week at a global summit of bishops would make progress toward that goal....  Instead, the opposite has happened, deepening the gap between the Vatican and U.S. church leaders, who have pushed for a more stringent response. No clearer is the rift than in the relationship between Pope Francis and Cardinal O’Malley, a bearded Capuchin friar who likes to be called 'Cardinal Sean.'..."  (See  "" ‘It Will Cause a Scandal.’ The Pope and a Trusted U.S. Cardinal Clash Over Sex-Abuse Crisis" by Francis X. Rocca,  2/14/19, The Wall Street Journal   [https://www.wsj.com/articles/it-will-cause-a-scandal-the-pope-and-a-trusted-u-s-cardinal-clash-over-sex-abuse-crisis-11550156764?shareToken=st82adb556ff924d858a16ef8b634bcdb6&ref=article_email_share] [Entitled:  

"Sex-Abuse Crisis Splits Vatican." in the 2/15/19 print edition of the WSJ]).

Perhaps, the most disturbing thing in Mr. Rocca's piece are these penultimate and ultimate lines,  "....  [T]he Vatican announced the organizers of its February summit on sex abuse, including [the fact that] one American cardinal. Cardinal O’Malley, the pope’s point man on abuse for five years, wasn’t mentioned. That afternoon, Cardinal O’Malley responded by saying he would attend the summit nonetheless, and sought to lay out an agenda. In late January, Pope Francis played down the Vatican’s ambitions for the meeting [concerning sex abuse by priests world-wide], describing it to reporters as essentially educational....   'We have to deflate expectations,' the pope told the reporters."

So, mull that over, even better "mill" it.....

(Since, I did this post, some commenters have mentioned a letter from Bishop Di Marzio of the Roman Catholic DIocese covering Brooklyn and Queens that "named" 108 priests and monsignors, about whom Bishop DiMarzio states that there have been findings indicating sexual abuse claims against them are credible.)