Abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich: the public prosecutor's office examines 42 cases according to reports

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The report on cases of sexual abuse in the Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising

Photo: Sven Hoppe / dpa

The Munich I public prosecutor's office is currently examining 42 cases of misconduct by church officials in connection with the new report on abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.

This was confirmed by the authority's spokeswoman, Anne Leiding, of the dpa news agency.

The law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl (WSW), which wrote the sensational report on behalf of the diocese, made “41 cases available to the public prosecutor’s office in August 2021,” said Leiding – and another case in November 2021. “They only concern living church officials and were transmitted in a highly anonymous form.«

If, on this basis, "suspects regarding possibly criminally relevant behavior on the part of church officials arise," the relevant documents would be requested from the law firm and, if necessary, passed on to the responsible public prosecutor's office, said Leiding.

»Which criminal law norms were violated is still the subject of the examination.«

At least 497 casualties

The WSW report, commissioned by the archdiocese of Munich and Freising itself, comes to the conclusion that cases of sexual abuse in the diocese have not been dealt with appropriately for decades and accuses the former archbishops Friedrich Wetter and Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. , concrete and personal misconduct in several cases.

The current archbishop, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, has also been accused of formal misconduct in two cases.

The experts speak of at least 497 victims and 235 suspected perpetrators, but assume a significantly larger number of unreported cases.

Ratzinger's role is particularly explosive.

Because the experts assume that in all probability he did not tell the truth.

The renowned canon lawyer Thomas Schüller is clearer: "He clearly lied," he said on Thursday evening in the ARD "Focal Point". Benedict XVI had repeatedly stressed that he had not attended a meeting in 1980 at which it was decided that a priest who had abused boys in the diocese of Essen should be transferred to Bavaria. Ratzinger was Archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1977 to 1982.

The law firm WSW submitted minutes according to which Ratzinger - contrary to what he claimed - had taken part in the meeting.

"Today he doesn't want to see the truth, instead he denies it and tries to shift all responsibility away from himself, thereby snubbing the victims a second time," Schüller criticized the Pope Emeritus.

"The damage to Benedict's reputation is great, precisely because he has always shown himself to be a fighter against sexual abuse in the church," said the Catholic theologian Daniel Bogner.

Following the revelations, Bogner believes that Marx's resignation would be appropriate.

It is conceivable that the archbishop of Munich and Freising will offer his resignation to the pope again in response to the report - as he did last year, said the professor of moral theology and ethics at the Swiss University of Freiburg.

“And I hope he won't accept another rejection by Pope Francis this time.

This would initially only be a symbolic, but very strong sign that the existing structures of the church will no longer function as they are.«

The Munich report will probably further increase the number of people leaving the church.

What is now decisive is how this is dealt with within the Church: "Does it still remain the case that individuals are held accountable, or are structural conclusions drawn from this?"

Agnes Wich, who was affected, sharply criticized the fact that Marx was not present when the report was presented and only gave a short statement later.

A more detailed one will follow in a week.

"Personally, I think that's a very clear sign of disregard and contempt for the victims," ​​she said.

Last year, after a few weeks, Wich resigned from the diocese's advisory board for those affected, which is intended to help process the cases in the diocese.

Central Committee of Catholics demands consequences

The President of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), Irme Stetter-Karp, severely criticized the leadership of the church. "When will there finally be consequences that do justice to the dramatic situation?" she asked in a statement. The absence of "convincing structural reforms" shows that illegal behavior in the German church "exists to the present day".

"Even in 2022, the bitter reality is that the system of cover-up, forgetting and quick forgiveness has not been broken," said Stetter-Karp. She no longer believes that the church can do the work alone. Many dioceses were too hesitant to set up independent commissions to deal with the abuse scandal. The Munich report also proves that independent ombudsman offices for victims of sexual violence must be set up and that the communities in which the perpetrators have worked and lived should be included in the investigation.

The Catholic Church has “doubly failed” towards those affected by sexual violence.

Because they have not fulfilled their mandate to protect the weakest in society.

In addition, she herself opened up spaces for abuse.

The religious policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Lars Castelluci, also called for an independent investigation into the abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.

"Nobody can enlighten themselves, that's what our constitutional state is for," he told the "Augsburger Allgemeine".

»It cannot be that the protection of the organization is given greater priority than the protection of people.«

After the experience with the various reports in different dioceses, Castelluci calls for a "binding common and verifiable framework for the processing throughout Germany".

He announced that the Traffic Light Coalition would strengthen the position of the Independent Commissioner on Child Sexual Abuse Issues and legislate his work.

In addition, a regular reporting obligation to the German Bundestag should be introduced.

wit/dpa/AFP