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Joseph Ratzinger after his consecration as archbishop in 1977 in Munich's Liebfrauendom
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Hartmut Reeh / dpa
The presentation of the report on sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich-Freising caused horror. The report by the law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl (WSW), commissioned by the Archdiocese itself, comes to the conclusion that cases of sexual abuse have not been dealt with appropriately in the diocese for decades - and accuses the former Archbishops Friedrich Wetter and Joseph Ratzinger, who is now retired Pope Benedict XVI, specific and personal misconduct in several cases. The current Archbishop, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, is also charged.
The nearly 1,900-page study is available online on the law firm's website.
It mentions at least 497 children and young people as victims of sexual violence from 1945 to 2019.
According to the study, there are at least 235 suspects, including 173 priests and nine deacons.
The archbishops are accused of mistakes in dealing with abuse cases.
Emeritus Benedict XVI.
denies the allegations in their entirety.
The lawyers consider his denials, especially in the case of the move to Munich in 1980 of a priest who had been noticed for acts of abuse, to be not very credible.
The spokesman for the victims' initiative "Eckiger Tisch", Matthias Katsch, spoke of a "historic shock" to the church. "We are witnessing the collapse of a monument here," Katsch told SPIEGEL in relation to the allegations against Benedikt. The abuse crisis in the Catholic Church has finally arrived at its center - the Vatican. "This building of lies, which was erected here in Munich to protect Cardinal Ratzinger, by Pope Benedict, collapsed with a crash today," Katsch told the dpa news agency.
Some acts could only have taken place because Joseph Ratzinger made the decision during his time as Archbishop of Munich and Freising to appoint an abuser in his diocese.
The "perpetrator-centered system" was "burdened at the top," said Katsch.
"Anyone who has just lived through this must recognize that this system has come to an end."
The Münster canon lawyer Thomas Schüller sees the reputation of the emeritus Pope Benedict XVI.
permanently damaged.
"This is his personal Waterloo," said Schüller.
»Joseph Ratzinger missed his last chance to come clean.
He is convicted of untruth and thus unmasks himself as an active cover-up.
He is doing irreparable damage to the Catholic Church and the papacy.”
Schüller said that Ratzinger's later period as prefect of the Roman Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Pope would only be conclusively judged long after his death, when the archives were opened.
Accordingly, the reform movement »We are Church« also demands further investigations in Germany.
She demanded "that all German dioceses submit reports on abuse immediately and, if possible, according to the same standard, revealing the perpetrators and cover-up structures," according to a statement.
Response of Benedict XVI
required
There is a "toxic pattern" of cover-up through denial, displacement and looking the other way.
The reformers complain that the role of Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger of Munich at the time was becoming increasingly dubious.
The 94-year-old former pontiff must face up to his responsibilities.
The abuse expert and Jesuit Father Hans Zollner also demanded a sign from Benedict.
»Now something from Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
come.
He'll have to respond again,' he said.
Zollner is a member of the papal Commission for the Protection of Minors, established in 2014, and thus acts as an external advisor to the Vatican.
He says: "The numbers are terrible, but unfortunately not surprising."
The Vatican wants to study the report in the coming days.
The spokesman for the Holy See, Matteo Bruni, said that it would be understood and the details could then be examined appropriately.
You want to continue on the path you have taken to protect the little ones.
Benedict has been living in a monastery in the Vatican since his resignation.
Abuse expert Zollner warned during the processing: »The human, psychological and spiritual side are important for a real processing.
Only then do you understand what happened to the victims.«
Apr/dpa/AFP
