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Reinhard Marx regrets his behavior in the course of an abuse case in 2006
Photo: TORSTEN SILZ / AFP
The Munich Cardinal Reinhard Marx has spoken out in favor of investigating a case of abuse from his time as Bishop of Trier. "For me it is clear: Even ignorance in the case of wrong actions or omissions does not prevent responsibility and guilt from being present and having to be accepted," Marx informed the "Zeit" supplement "Christ & Welt" in writing. "In my opinion, a closer examination of the entire case should clarify that." A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising confirmed the cardinal's statements.
For an article in the latest edition, "Christ & Welt" worked on the already known case of a priest who allegedly assaulted minors and examined Marx's role in it. For this purpose, the authors presented their information about the case to canon lawyers and asked for an assessment according to the criteria that were also applied in the recently published, widely acclaimed Cologne abuse report, which led to two bishops offering the Pope their resignation and a third for breach of duty was on leave.
Marx asked Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Tuesday not to award him the Federal Cross of Merit. Previously, the Advisory Board in the Archdiocese of Cologne had appealed to the Federal President not to carry out the award for the time being. On Friday, the former chairman of the German Bishops' Conference should have received the Federal Cross of Merit for his commitment to justice and solidarity. A spokesman for Cardinal Marx emphasized at the request of the German Press Agency: "There is no connection between this report and the waiver of the Federal Cross of Merit."
According to the information, "Christ & Welt" confronted Marx on April 13 with the case of a pastor in Saarland, which he had decided on in 2006 in his previous office as Bishop of Trier.
He replied: "From today's perspective, I should have arranged for us as the diocese to request the prosecution's files and pursue the allegations in our own canonical preliminary investigation - also to check whether the accusation is also statute-barred under canon law."
That this did not happen was wrong.
"I very much regret my behavior at the time," "Christ & Welt" quotes the cardinal.
When asked whether he could have prevented actions, Marx replied: "The question follows me too."
svs / dpa
