Catholic Bishop in Germany making child rape scandal even worse

This week, more child rape cases were uncovered in the Diocese formerly controlled by Joseph Ratzinger, currently known as Pope Benedict XVI:

The Regensburg diocese in Pope Benedict's native Bavaria confirmed new allegations of child sexual abuse against four priests and two nuns on Monday, in the latest cases damaging the Catholic Church's image in Germany.

I'd say it's further damaging the Catholic Church's already tarnished image. For decades, the hierarchy of the Church protected and enabled child rapists. It's hard to understand how Bishops have any moral authority. In the U.S. alone, the Catholic Church has paid out over $2.7 billion in damages.

And, it's not good for the Catholic hierarchy when the subtitle in the Reuters article reads "NAZI COMPARISON BACKFIRES." They usually do:

Also in Regensburg, Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller came under fire for a sermon on Saturday that appeared to compare critical media coverage of the abuse scandal in Germany to Nazi propaganda campaigns against the church.

Speaking at the 100-year anniversary of the German Catholic Women's League, Mueller said that over 1,000 local Catholics, mostly women, had demonstrated against Nazi injustice in 1941 and such courage was needed again to counter today's media.

"Now we are again witnessing a campaign against the church," he said. "The aim is to undermine the church's credibility."

Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, called his account of heroic resistance to the Nazis a "falsification of history." Hans-Ulrich Pfaffmann, a Social Democrat in Bavaria's state assembly, called the bishop's comments a "kick in the face" to abuse victims.

Yeah. Not good. But, the church has kicked victims in the face for decades.

Why does anyone in Congress pay any heed to the Catholic Bishops?