Here is a really simple question.
A child molester Priest pleads no contest to charges of lewd conduct for tying up and molesting two young boys in a San Francisco rectory.
He asks to leave the priesthood. His request is backed by the Diocese.
WHY WOULD YOU KEEP HIM AS A PRIEST AND LET HIM BE AROUND CHILDREN????
If it were stipulated for purposes of this thread that the Catholic Church has had a homosexual pedophile problem and that the current pope was not perfect in dealing with it, could we discuss other aspects of this news story?
You say that "He asks to leave the priesthood. His request is backed by the Diocese."
In that case, the Diocesan bishop can, and should, immediately remove his faculties and leave him with no assignment. This means he can no longer function as a priest. Can't preach. Can't say Mass. Can't administer sacraments. Then the Bishop can turn him over to the police, the prosecutor, or whatever arm of secular authority he would be answerable to for his crime.
That's exactly what happened in the Diocese of Knoxville to a certain (formerly Fr.) William Casey: as soon as there was a credible allegation and he admitted that it had a factual basis (a criminal act he did 40 years ago) the Bishop instantly suspended his faculties and contacted the prosecutor's office. You don't need to go to Rome for that.
This is no what the Pope does. There are 400,000 priests in the world. It is not the Pope who grants them or denies them faculties --- which means, the authorization to function as a priest. The Bishop gives and takes faculties away on his own authority, and if necessary, on the spot.
If he offender is removed from the priesthood canonically by Rome, you don't necessarily gain anything. It makes it impossible to keep him under any kind of church supervision, because he is removed from the oversight of his Bishop.
It's basically turning him loose.
I'm not a Canon Lawyer, but I can tell you there may be cases where immediately removing oversight may not be a good idea.
I don’t — why does your denomination allow the molesting of kids either?