Catholic hospitals fail German public

Der Spiegel minces no words when addressing the failures of Roman Catholic health facilities in Germany.

Wanting nothing to do with a possible early termination of a pregnancy, doctors working for the Cellitines turned away a woman who was seeking help shortly before Christmas, despite the strong suspicion that she had been raped.

Last week, the order publicly downplayed the case when it made national news, calling it "very regrettable" and "a misunderstanding."

Turning away rape victims can hardly be called a misunderstanding.

This failure to meet the needs of female patients outrages Germans, and rightly so. How can this church, of all churches, pretend that it is ethical?

Catholic facilities are increasingly sealing themselves off, often behaving as if they were part of a state within a state; a cosmos subject to its own rules, which are monitored by the pope and his bishops; and a world in which federal, state and local governments have little say.

Every year, Catholic dioceses receive billions in funds from obligatory taxes paid by church members. But when it comes to scandals, such as when sexual abuse is systematically covered up and remains uninvestigated for years, citizens have little influence and are left to experience how the church energetically defends its special rights.

The internet is shining a light on the church's evil doings. I don't see how Catholicism can survive the current, heightened level of scrutiny. It's a church without ethics, without morals. This doesn't escape people's notice.