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The report was commissioned by the Munich and Freising archdiocese to examine abuse between 1945 and 2019 and whether church officials handles allegations correctly. Thursday 20 January 2022 14:22, UK
Former pope Benedict XVI failed to act on four cases of sexual abuse when he was archbishop of Munich, a report has found.
The report, compiled by a German law firm, found that the pope – then called Josef Ratzinger – could be “accused of misconduct” over his handling of the cases.
Ratzinger, 93, has lived in the Vatican since the end of his papacy in 2013, but he was archbishop of Munich and Freising between 1977 and 1982.
The report detailed four instances involving the archbishop:
• Two cases where perpetrators offended while he was in office but, while they were punished by the judicial system, they were allowed to continue pastoral work without limitations
• A case where a cleric convicted outside Germany was put into service in Munich despite Ratzinger knowing his history
• A suspected paedophile priest transferred to Munich for therapy in 1980 – a transfer approved by Ratzinger. The priest was allowed to resume pastoral work – a decision the church said was made by someone else – and was convicted of molesting a boy in 1986
The former pope has denied the accusations.
One of the report’s authors Martin Pusch said: “In a total of four cases, we came to the conclusion that the then-archbishop, Cardinal Ratzinger, can be accused of misconduct.”
Munich’s current archbishop, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, has promised a response to the report later today.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said it would evaluate the full report and examine its details.
https://news.sky.com/story/former-pope-benedict-xvi-failed-to-act-on-four-cases-of-sexual-abuse-report-finds-12520888
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Ex-Pope Benedict failed to act against abusive priests in Germany, report finds
The law firm that drew up the report, which faulted the current archbishop in two cases, said that Benedict strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Jan. 20, 2022, 8:49 PM +08 / Updated Jan. 20, 2022, 10:49 PM +08
By Claudio Lavanga, AK Pohlers and Associated Press
ROME — A report into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Germany’s Munich diocese has found that retired Pope Benedict XVI failed to act in four cases between 1977 and 1982 when he was Archbishop of Munich.
Lawyers who drew up the report said Benedict categorically denied any wrongdoing. The report also faulted Munich’s current archbishop, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, an important ally of Pope Francis.
The archdiocese commissioned the report from law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl nearly two years ago, with a mandate to look into abuse between 1945 and 2019 and whether church officials handled allegations correctly.
“In a total of four cases, we came to the conclusion that the then-archbishop, Cardinal Ratzinger, can be accused of misconduct,” said one of the reports’ authors, Martin Pusch, referring to Benedict’s name before he was made Pope. He added that the former pope had “strictly” denied responsibility in response to the accusations.
Benedict, now aged 94, has been living in the Vatican since resigning as pontiff in 2013.
The archdiocese and the law firm said that top church officials had been informed of the results ahead of its publication.
However, in a statement to NBC News, the Vatican said the report’s “contents are presently unknown.”
“In coming days, following its publication, the Holy See will be able to give it a careful and detailed examination,” Matteo Bruni, the director of the Vatican Press Office, said in a statement to NBC News.
“In reiterating shame and remorse for abuses committed by clerics against minors, the Holy See expresses its closeness to all victims and reaffirms the efforts undertaken to protect minors and ensure safe environments for them,” he added.
Munich’s current archbishop, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, declined an invitation to attend the presentation on Thursday, according to the report’s authors.
Last year, Marx offered to resign over the church’s “catastrophic” mishandling of clergy sexual abuse cases, saying that the scandals had brought the church to “a dead end.”
Francis rejected the offer but added that a process of reform was necessary and that every bishop must take responsibility for the “catastrophe” of the abuse crisis.
A church-commissioned report concluded in 2018 at least 3,677 people were abused by clergy in Germany between 1946 and 2014. More than half of the victims were 13 or younger, and nearly a third served as altar boys.
Ratzinger served in Munich from 1977 to 1982 before becoming the head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and later becoming Pope Benedict XVI.
The revelations are the latest to rock the Roman Catholic Church after a series of sexual abuse scandals around the world, often involving children.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/pope-benedict-failed-act-abusive-priests-munich-church-report-finds-rcna12858?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma
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