FILE - In this Dec. 12, 1985 file photo, Joseph Ratzinger presents a book with the documents issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, during a press conference at the Vatican, when he was Head of the Congregation. The future Pope Benedict XVI resisted defrocking a California priest with a record of sexually molesting children, citing concerns including "the good of the universal church," according to a 1985 letter obtained by the Associated Press bearing his signature. (AP Photo/Bruno Mosconi)
1985 letter signed by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then-head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, indicates he resisted defrocking a California priest who had a record of sexually molesting children.
