Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. has asked victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church for forgiveness – but firmly rejected concrete cover-up allegations against himself. “I have had great responsibilities in the Catholic Church, so my pain is all the greater for the transgressions and mistakes that have occurred during my tenures and in the places concerned,” he wrote in a statement released by the Vatican on Tuesday.
He wanted to express his “deep shame”, his “great pain” and his “sincere apologies to all victims of sexual abuse,” the letter said.
Benedikt, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, has been heavily criticized for weeks because an expert report on cases of abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising accuses him of misconduct in four cases. The experts from the law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl (WSW) assume that Ratzinger, during his time as Archbishop of Munich, reinstated priests who had abused children in pastoral care.
Allegations against Ratzinger dismissed
These allegations are categorically denied in a “fact check” by Ratzinger’s lawyers and consultants, which was also published on Tuesday. “The report contains no evidence of an allegation of misconduct or assistance in a cover-up,” it says. “As archbishop, Cardinal Ratzinger was not involved in covering up abuse.”
Ratzinger defends himself against accusations of lying
Benedict also spoke out himself in response to allegations that he lied about his attendance at a meeting about the transfer of a priest from North Rhine-Westphalia to Bavaria. This priest is said to have later abused several children in two Upper Bavarian communities. The false statement that he was not present at the meeting in question was based on a misunderstanding. That came about when writing the statement on the report, with which “a small group of friends” helped him.
“In the huge work of those days – the preparation of the opinion – an oversight occurred as regards the question of my participation in the Ordinariate meeting of January 15, 1980”. The mistake was “not intentional” – and “I hope it’s also excusable,” writes Benedikt. “The fact that the mistake was used to doubt my truthfulness, yes, to portray me as a liar, hit me deeply.”
Ratzinger’s lawyers emphasize that participation in the meeting does not prove that he knew about previous acts of abuse by the priest from Essen. The files show “that the session in question did not raise the subject of the priest’s sexual abuse,” they write.
Numerous cases of abuse – unreported cases
According to the report presented on January 20, at least 497 children and young people were sexually abused in the Catholic diocese by priests, deacons or other church employees between 1945 and 2019. There were at least 235 alleged perpetrators, including 173 priests and 9 deacons. However, this is only the “bright field” – it can be assumed that the number of unreported cases is much larger.
In his letter, Ratzinger asks the faithful to pray for him: “More and more I understand the disgust and fear that overcame Christ on the Mount of Olives, when he saw all the horrors that he was about to overcome from within,” he writes . “The fact that the disciples were able to sleep at the same time is unfortunately the situation that has arisen again today and in which I also feel addressed.”
Source: Nachrichten
