A child abuse report released in Germany on Thursday found former Pope Benedict XVI failed to act in four cases of mistreatment.
What do we know so far?
According to law firm Westphal Spilker Wastl (WSW), which conducted the investigation, Benedict failed to prevent abuse of minors during his tenure as archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1977 to 1982.
“In a total of four cases, we reached a consensus there was a failure to act,” said attorney Martin Pusch, who presented the WSW report.
Two cases involve priests who were legally charged with child abuse and were allowed to continue their work in the church as pastors.
The church also took no official disciplinary action against the clergymen, and it appears that no care was given to their victims.
Another case revolved around notorious child abuser Peter H., who was transferred from Essen in western Germany to the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising in 1980, while Benedict, Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger at the time, led the archdiocese.
Benedict has denied the allegations. Current Munich Archbishop Reinhard Marx has also been accused of failing to intervene in two cases of abuse.
The WSW report found at least 497 cases of abuse at the Archdiocese of Munich between the years 1945 and 2019. The mistreatment mostly involved young males.
The Vatican on Thursday expressed “shame and remorse” in response to the abuse revelations in the report.
Catholic Church faces multiple child abuse scandals
The report is the latest child abuse scandal to impact the Catholic Church. Earlier this week, the 94-year-old former pope denied he knew about allegations of sex abuse at the Mexico-based Legionaries of Christ Catholic religious order.
Legionaries of Christ founder Marcial Maciel, who died in 2008, has been accused of abusing dozens of minors.
The Legionaries of Christ sex abuse scandal has tarnished the legacy of Pope John Paul II, who led the church from 1978 until his death in 2005. John Paul II praised Maciel and touted the work of the Legionaries of Christ during his tenure as pope.
wd/dj (AFP, Reuters, KNA)
Ex-Pope Benedict XVI failed to act in child abuse cases — report
Source: Pinoy Pop News
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