The debate about abuse in the Catholic Church now also reaches the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.
Cardinal Reinhard Marx therefore rejects the Federal Cross of Merit.
This is what Catholics in the Erding district think of it.
District
- did Cardinal Reinhard Marx deserve the Federal Cross of Merit?
The shepherd of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising has definitely asked not to grant him this honor.
Victims' associations had previously criticized the nomination because Marx's role in dealing with cases of abuse in the dioceses of Trier and Munich had not been fully clarified.
"I have a lot of respect for this decision," says Martin Garmaier, Erding's parish priest.
He was just about to write a letter to Marx about it.
Garmaier believes that the cardinal deserves the award, after all, in the recent past, the cardinal has “worked extremely hard on victims of abuse”.
Diocesan youth pastor Richard Greul also pays his respects to the cardinal.
Marx had “shown a good instinct” there.
People who would have suffered should not be hurt even more by such an honor.
As a youth minister in particular, it is important to him: "Church must be a protected framework."
“I think it's very responsible,” says Hans Wiesmaier, mayor of Fraunberg and has been chairman of the parish council in Rappoltskirchen for 34 years.
"In the past, some people in charge lacked this sensitivity."
Carla Marx, on the other hand, 3rd Mayor of Wartenberg and formerly a member of the parish council, “cannot understand why a high-ranking church representative is being proposed for this award in these times”.
Looking at the events in her native Cologne, she fears that "some things will fizzle out" when dealing with abuse.
"Hats off", says the Dorfen parish council chairman Wolfgang Lanzinger.
He welcomed the decision.
However, when it came to the subject of abuse, Marx in particular "went extremely on the offensive in terms of the shameful behavior of other bishops and focused on transparency."
