He ended the era of indulgence and sin and of repentance and has started cleaning up. In civil language: heads start rolling by the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. In just 48 hours, the Pope has accepted the resignation of three bishops involved in child abuse cases. The prelates of Miami (USA), Kildare and Leighlin (Ireland) and Augsburg (Germany) have resigned from their posts before they were 75 years mandatory.

The rules only provide for waivers because of illness or serious cause "

The announcement of this new era of accountability was hidden in the pastoral maligned and misunderstood. The Pope visited the Irish Catholics last March to explain his decision to spend a visit to it's imminent apostolic (papal inspection).

In the paragraph devoted to the bishops, Ratzinger said: "There is no denying that some of you and your predecessors have failed, sometimes severely, when applying the rules, codified for a long time, law on the child abuse offenses. They have made serious mistakes in responding to the accusations. The serious mistakes of trial and there were failures of government. All this has seriously undermined your credibility and effectiveness. "

The letter added: "Only decisive action carried out with total honesty and transparency will restore the respect and appreciation of the Irish people to the Church. Ought to spring, first, of your personal self-examination of internal cleansing and spiritual renewal. "