Cardinal Marx has offered the Pope to resign from his office as bishop.
In Freising they were surprised by this news - but they understand.
Freising
- Cardinal Reinhard Marx asked Pope Francis to release him from the office of Archbishop of Munich and Freising.
This was announced by the ordinariate on Friday morning.
Marx wanted to “share responsibility for the catastrophe of sexual abuse by church officials in the past decades”.
The Catholic Church had reached a “dead point”.
In Freising they were surprised by the news - but understand the motivation for this step.
“Keep it up!” Is no longer possible
"That was a bang," says Auxiliary Bishop Bernhard Haßlberger in an interview with the FT. The episcopal vicar for the pastoral care region north and the two representatives for Munich and the south were spontaneously ordered to Munich on Friday morning. "On the way, of course, I thought about all possible reasons for this meeting," reports Haßlberger. “But none of us thought of that. We were really very exhausted. "
With the decision to give up the office of bishop, the cardinal wanted to "set a clear accent," says Haßlberger.
In his eyes, Marx wants to show that he “does not stick to office” and clears the way for a new beginning - regardless of how the decision in Rome ultimately turns out.
The Auxiliary Bishop sees the fact that, according to Marx, the church has reached a “dead point” as a somewhat exaggerated formulation.
"However, I share the opinion that we have reached a point where, with the best of intentions, we no longer," Keep it up! "
can say. "
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Auxiliary Bishop Bernhard Haßlberger
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Resigning from the office of bishop alone is not enough: of course, a successor must also force a fresh start.
"If someone comes along who wants to sit out the whole thing, that would be counterproductive," stresses Haßlberger.
In his letter to Pope Francis, Marx writes that “some in the church do not want to acknowledge this element of co-responsibility and thus complicity in the institution and are therefore opposed to any reform and renewal dialogue in connection with the abuse crisis”.
The cardinal clearly rejects this position.
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Stephan Rauscher is the parish administrator in Freising.
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In this context, Freising's parish administrator Stephan Rauscher explains that Marx and the archdiocese have for years been among those who do not shy away from critical debate, but rather actively pursue it.
Efforts are being made to deal with the issue and take preventive measures.
"Protection concepts have been drawn up, there are training courses and offers of help, an advisory board for those affected has been established, and so on."
"We can't say we're going to close the shop"
Rauscher is unable to judge whether the resignation is a step in the right direction.
“I understand the signal he wants to send.
But taking responsibility can also mean staying in office in order to deal with circumstances and to improve them. "The parish administrator emphasizes:" We cannot all step back and say we are going to close the shop.
We have a mission and a responsibility.
Because somebody has to clean up anyway. "
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Josef Geißdörfer is the church caretaker of St. Peter and Paul in Freising-Neustift.
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The church caretaker of St. Peter and Paul in Freising-Neustift, Josef Geißdörfer (72), sees a special connection in the resignation offer: “I believe that this offer is also a reference back to Marx's term of office as chairman of the German Bishops' Conference.
Even then he did not get through with his ideas of modernization and the creation of transparency in the church and therefore gave up his chairmanship. “Marx's decision was quite correct as a beacon against overly conservative forces, against the blockers in the church and also in the church Administration, in the Vatican.
Cardinal Marx recently visited Freising to bless the former Marstall building, which after its renovation was given several new uses.
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