Munich: Search warrant against Archdiocese

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Relief of Pope Benedict XVI.

in the Munich Frauenkirche (symbol image)

Photo: Sven Hoppe / dpa

According to information from the "Süddeutsche Zeitung", the public prosecutor's office has made representations to the Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising with a search warrant.

The action is said to be in the context of the abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.

According to information from the "Süddeutsche Zeitung", the archdiocese did not want to comment on Sunday.

"As already known, the Munich I public prosecutor's office is examining the more than 40 cases reported by the Westpfahl Spilker Wastl law firm at the beginning of August 2021 in which (...) there could be misconduct by church leaders," said a spokeswoman for the Judicial authority the SPIEGEL.

"As usual, we cannot provide any information on ongoing investigations."

In January 2022, the law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl (WSW) published a sensational report on behalf of the archdiocese.

According to information from the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the action by the public prosecutor's office on February 16 involved a priest who has died in the meantime and whose case is also mentioned in the study.

This man's exploits date back to the 1960s;

According to the newspaper, how diocese officials treated him should be the subject of the investigation.

According to the newspaper, the investigations were not directed against Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who was not yet responsible at the time.

The judiciary - especially in Bavaria - had been repeatedly criticized in the past for leaving the church to deal with the abuse scandal itself, not intervening and thus enabling cover-ups.

Minister of Justice Georg Eisenreich (CSU) spoke out in favor of an independent contact point for those affected in December in the state parliament and emphasized that church reports only play a very minor role in the prosecution of criminal offenses.

swe/dpa