The Archbishop of Munich, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, has said he accepts responsibility for his role in a documented history of sexual abuse in the diocese of Munich and Freising in the southern state of Bavaria. Germany.
While speaking at the Catholic Academy in Munich on Thursday, Marx repeatedly acknowledged that he had not personally done enough to help the victims, saying: “It is unforgivable. We weren’t really interested in their suffering. had to do with systemic issues, at the same time, as Archbishop, I bear moral responsibility.”
The cardinal again asked for forgiveness from the victims, “in person and in the name of the diocese”. Moreover, he appealed to Catholics: “who doubt the Church, who can no longer trust those in authority and whose faith has been damaged. For too long we have not had enough emphasized and involved the parishes where the perpetrators were stationed”.
Only a “renewed Church” has a future in Germany
Marx stressed the urgency of dealing with the issue in stark terms: “There is no future for Christianity in our country without a renewed Church. For me, the reassessment of sexual abuse is part of a fundamental renewal.
The Munich religious leader’s words come just days after a damning report into the history of sexual abuse of children and minors in the diocese described crimes against at least 497 victims since 1945.
The report, prepared by law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl (WSW), says some 235 perpetrators were implicated in the crimes. Investigators believe the actual number of incidents of abuse is much higher.
“Anyone who still denies systemic causes, or disputes the need for reform of church positions and structures, has failed to understand the challenge before us,” Marx said in response to his findings.
Among those implicated in the report were several of Marx’s predecessors, the most famous being Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI.
After initially denying knowledge of four specific cases of abuse, the former pontiff recently offered a half-hearted admission acknowledging that he made “incorrect statements” during the WSW investigation, but not with “ill intent. “.
Marx on Thursday said: “Now we know enough to take a closer look and be able to act differently.”
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The Life of German Pope Benedict XVI
“We are pope”
“We are the pope”, headlines the main German tabloid, “Bild”. On April 19, 2005, the College of Cardinals elected 78-year-old Joseph Ratzinger to succeed John Paul II as the 265th pope. Taking the name Benedict XVI, the first German pope in nearly 500 years showed humility in assuming the papal throne: “The cardinals have elected me, a lowly worker in the vineyard of the Lord.”
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The Life of German Pope Benedict XVI
A lifetime with God
Born April 16, 1927, Joseph Ratzinger grew up immersed in World War II. Early in his life, Ratzinger decided to follow the path of the church, and even as a boy expressed his wish to become a cardinal.
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The Life of German Pope Benedict XVI
A child of war
During the war, Ratzinger had to join the Hitler Youth at the age of 16. Ratzinger later said he left the group as soon as the organizers stopped demanding it. He is pictured here in 1943. In 1944 he was drafted into the Wehrmacht. At the end of the war, he was briefly held as a prisoner of war by American forces, but was released in June 1945.
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The Life of German Pope Benedict XVI
priest, teacher, pope
Joseph Ratzinger studied theology, was ordained in 1952 and became professor of theology at the University of Regensburg at the age of 30. Ratzinger was initially seen as a progressive member of the church, but reportedly became more conservative after the student protests of the late 1960s.
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The Life of German Pope Benedict XVI
Influential theologian called to Rome
In 1981, just four years after being named Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Pope John Paul II brought Ratzinger (right) to Rome – appointing him prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, making him the most powerful executor of Catholic doctrine. . That an academic with limited pastoral experience should rise so high in the church hierarchy was a bone of contention for critics.
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The Life of German Pope Benedict XVI
Conservative course
Cardinal Ratzinger became increasingly conservative, something he shared with John Paul II. Advice on prohibiting abortion and against contraception and Latin American liberation theology bore his mark. He also remained true to his conservative path throughout his papacy.
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The Life of German Pope Benedict XVI
A church in crisis
In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI’s lifting of the excommunications of four Society of St. Pius bishops, one of whom had denied the Holocaust, caused a global outcry. Bad personnel decisions, a lack of ecumenical progress — and most importantly, the sexual abuse of minors by clergy, which has been covered up for decades — have all tainted the pope’s tenure.
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The Life of German Pope Benedict XVI
“Scourge” of sexual violence
Pope Benedict XVI has attempted to address the issue of sexual abuse, including reaching out to victims. He described the abuse of minors by priests as a “scourge” and having witnessed “great suffering”. Although he tightened restrictions on the training of priests, critics accused him of doing too little. Indeed, it was his successor who called the first major crisis meeting on the subject at the Vatican.
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The Life of German Pope Benedict XVI
criticism of germany
During his third visit to Germany, Benedict XVI was received by delirious crowds, as here in Erfurt. But the pope has also faced heavy criticism: he has been accused of ignoring victims’ associations in his deliberations and discussions. And his strict refusal to allow Holy Communion to couples of mixed faiths was seen as a rejection of ecumenical values.
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The Life of German Pope Benedict XVI
Collision course with Islam
During the Mainz carnival parade in 2007, Benedict XVI was depicted entering a mosque in his popemobile. The float was an allusion to a controversial statement by the Pope, in which he quoted Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, who said the Prophet Muhammad had brought “only evil and inhumanity” to the world. His choice of words caused a storm of controversy in the Muslim world.
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The Life of German Pope Benedict XVI
Historical decision
In February 2013, Benedict XVI resigned as pope and bishop of Rome for health and age reasons. This step was considered an act of great sovereignty, as it had been more than 700 years since a pope had voluntarily stepped down. Benedict can spend the rest of his life as “pope emeritus” in a monastery within the Vatican walls.
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The Life of German Pope Benedict XVI
Two popes?
Following his resignation in 2013, Benedict XVI pledged to obey his successor, Francis. Yet the pope emeritus again raised his voice. At the beginning of 2020, he published a book in which he argued vehemently against the modification of priestly celibacy. Francis had refused to categorically rule out the consecration of married men as priests.
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The Life of German Pope Benedict XVI
Admit false testimony
On January 24, 2022, the former pope apologized for providing false information during an investigation into sexual abuse in his former archdiocese of Munich. His statement said it was not done “with bad intentions”, but rather out of “oblivion”. The former pope had told an inquest he had not been present at a 1980 meeting over a pedophile priest who had been allowed to remain in office.
Author: Christoph Strack
Marx always ready to withdraw in theory
Marx, 68, who had previously offered his resignation, told those gathered in Munich: “My offer to resign last year was very serious. Pope Francis decided otherwise and called on me to continue to do my job responsibly”.
Marx, however, said he was always ready to step down if he proved “more of a hindrance than a help” in the future. “I’m not glued to my desk,” he said.
Last June, Marx delivered a letter of resignation to Pope Francis as a sign of his own responsibility in the matter. Francis rejected the letter, thanking Marx for showing “Christian courage which does not fear the cross, which does not fear being humbled before the formidable reality of sin.”
Recognizing that “the whole Church is in crisis over the issue of abuse,” the pontiff wrote, “the Church today cannot take a step forward without addressing this crisis. Addressing the crisis, personally and community, is the only fruitful way, because we do not come out of a crisis alone but in community.”
js/msh (dpa, epd, KNA)
