News of the Day: Sexual Abuse, Crypto.com, Corona Crisis

1.

A new report on abuse in the Catholic Church reveals horrific details - and the failings of many dignitaries

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Benedict XVI: What did the Pope Emeritus, who headed the Archdiocese of Munich in the 1980s, know?

Photo: AFP

The writer Franz Grillparzer once said that he was Catholic out of reverence. His brother, on the other hand, out of fear. I myself was a Catholic altar boy for years when I was young and not only fear the punishments that Catholic clergymen promise to all sinful and disobedient people. An apparently really horrible system of concealing sexual abuse within the Catholic Church has brought to light today an abuse report that reports on hundreds of victims in the sphere of influence of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising - and also Pope Benedict XVI. heavily burdened.

The report was prepared by a law firm on behalf of the diocese. The later Pope Joseph Ratzinger, who was archbishop from 1977 to 1982, was accused of misconduct in dealing with sexual abuse in four cases. Benedict XVI apparently denied the allegations in all cases. He had commented extensively on the allegations and claimed lack of knowledge.

"Sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is not a phenomenon of the past," said one of the firm's attorneys. There is a "general interest in secrecy" in the church.

The study lists at least 497 victims. These are predominantly male children and adolescents. According to the study, there were at least 235 alleged perpetrators – including 173 priests and nine deacons. In addition to Pope Benedict, other dignitaries of the archdiocese are also heavily accused. The report also reports that many clergymen continued to be employed even after allegations of abuse became known.

My colleague Felix Bohr from the SPIEGEL history department is a church expert in our editorial office. He says: »The publication of the Munich report on abuse is another major shock for the Catholic Church in Germany.

Now with Benedict XI.

probably the first time a pope has been involved in the inadequate processing of cases of abuse.« The Munich law firm that prepared the report considers Benedict's statements that he did not know anything about the actions of a certain priest to be little credible;

more precisely: »difficult to reconcile with their knowledge of the files«.

• Read the whole story here: Chancellery reports hundreds of victims – and incriminates Pope Benedict XVI.

2.

A trading platform has admitted the theft of cryptocurrency worth 33 million dollars – Bitcoin, Ether and Co. have recently been repeatedly stolen

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Promotes Crypto.com: Matt Damon

Photo: Vianney Le Caer / dpa

More and more people in Germany are interested in investing in shares. But the majority of more or less courageous investors are still skeptical about the minority investing in cryptocurrencies. Also, because experts regularly warn: Apparently, it is not just the price fluctuations of Bitcoin, Ether and related currencies that cause uncertainty, but the secure storage of crypto money is probably difficult. Today it was announced that the trading platform Crypto.com had to admit the theft of ether and various by-catch currencies worth $33 million.

In his text, my colleague Patrick Beuth reports that the Singapore-based trading platform for cryptocurrencies and NFTs (»Non-Fungible Tokens«, i.e. »non-exchangeable objects«) only admitted after days of beating around the bush: 483 of their customers have been hacked been. The platform operators have published a statement on the incident. It does not say exactly what the vulnerability was that the perpetrators were able to exploit. The platform calls the theft "unauthorized takeoff," with "the majority of cases prevented."

At least three other cryptocurrency and NFT trading venues have been compromised since the beginning of the year.

In addition, there are other cases of fraud that emanated from providers themselves.

Is the glee that many non-crypto investors are now likely to feel appropriate?

It's actually "difficult to keep track of the many hacks and frauds on these platforms," ​​says my colleague Patrick.

»For me it seems like a kind of negative lottery: the jackpot is not having your deposits stolen.«

However: "If you have enough money to put it in NFTs, you should be able to handle a little glee."

• Read more here: Crypto.com has to admit theft of $33 million

3. Almost all winter holiday resorts in the Alps are in crisis because of Corona, but they are at greater risk from climate change

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Ehrwalder Alm ski area in Austria

Photo:

Chris Riefenberg / DER SPIEGEL

In these January days, many people are overcome by the desire for winter holidays and skiing in the Alps - if, like me, you live in Hamburg, which is currently almost always gray, it is particularly strong.

But of course winter tourism is in crisis because of the corona pandemic.

My colleague Gerhard Pfeil has written an impressive report about the Tyrolean ski resort of Ehrwald that also arouses longing.

Ehrwald is at the foot of the Zugspitze.

»Impressive mountain panorama, 2600 inhabitants, 4000 guest beds.

The locals make a good living from tourism.

Actually,” reports Gerhard.

»Fear reigns supreme on the alp« is his story. Corona hit the place hard. The ski season from December to March was canceled last winter, and the economic consequences of the pandemic are enormous. Now for many people it is about existence. What is added this winter is the social division that Corona has triggered. Corona deniers are also appearing more and more massively in and around Ehrwald, like crazy. A doctor who offered vaccinations for children was attacked. There is a mountain hut that is run like a fortress by anti-vaccinationists. "We used to have 2 percent of the insane, now it's 15 percent," says the mayor of Ehrwald.

How does my colleague see the future of skiing in Tyrol and in the Alps?

"The people of Ehrwald are tough and well positioned to survive Corona," says Gerhard.

»Corona will not destroy ski tourism - the greater danger for winter sports in the long term is climate change.«

• Read the whole story here: Fear is rampant on the Alm

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What else is important today

• Baerbock warns Russia of "serious consequences":

  There is no sign of a relaxation in the Ukraine conflict.

  Foreign Minister Baerbock discussed this with her US colleague Blinken in Berlin.

  Both warned Moscow against further heating up the situation.

• Poland is to pay 69 million euros to the EU:

  Brussels has imposed a fine on Poland for the controversial judicial reform.

  If the country does not pay within a period of time, the EU can act.

• Habeck and Baerbock assure cooperation in investigations:

  The Berlin public prosecutor's office is investigating the Greens leadership because of paid corona bonuses.

  Now Foreign Minister Baerbock and Economics Minister Habeck are appeasing the matter – almost word for word.

• Around the world in 156 days:

  She took off to become the youngest woman who has ever flown around the world: Zara Rutherford is now celebrating two records in Belgium.

  But she says, "I wouldn't do it again."

My favorite story today: Hardy Krüger - between Hamburg and Hollywood

He once said, with a wonderful love of metaphors: "If the mistakes of my life had wings, I could fly the highest mountains." Hardy Krüger, who has now died in Palm Springs, was a star whose sight and way of speaking warmed one's heart .

He became famous with films such as »The Flight of the Phoenix« and »Hatari!«, but also with the wonderfully stupid comedy »Die Christel von der Post«.

• Pictures of a life:

  Hardy Krüger - between Hamburg and Hollywood

What we recommend at SPIEGEL+ today

• Vaccination "à la Ingrid":

  Some use fake injections, others "only" falsify the papers: The business with false corona vaccination certificates is growing - and doctors should also be involved.

• Sweden is now bringing up tanks:

  In Sweden, the fear of war has even reached children's rooms: TikTok clips of unclear origin disturb the offspring.

  Now Stockholm is sending more soldiers to the strategically important island of Gotland.

• The four construction sites of Friedrich Merz:

  The CDU federal party conference is intended to confirm the clear vote of the members for Friedrich Merz.

  Four daunting tasks await the new chairman – one in particular is time-consuming.

• The comeback king of Italy:

  Silvio Berlusconi has been fighting for months to become president.

  Shortly before the first ballot on Monday, he comes remarkably close to an absolute majority.

  Does the 85-year-old actually have a chance?

• Was it just Germany that got it so bad?

  The German handball players have reported twelve infected players since the start of the European Championship, the next opponent Spain has so far come through the tournament unscathed.

  Why the aerosols in the sport are so dangerous.

  
  

What is less important today: dacha with a view

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Tina Turner: The singer has lived in Switzerland for many years

Photo: Christian Charisius / dpa

• Tina Turner, 82, a singer who has lived in Switzerland for many years, has a new »weekend hideaway«. This is how Turner's husband Erwin Bach described the luxury property that he and his wife bought on Lake Zurich. In addition to various historical buildings, a swimming pool and a jetty also belong to the property. Turner and Bach have been living in Küsnacht, about 20 kilometers further north, in a rented house for years. The purchase price of the new home is estimated at 70 million francs (around 67 million euros). Bach commented on the deal as follows: "Because of the pandemic and its consequences, we - like many other Swiss people - unfortunately do not travel."

  
  

Typo of the day

, now corrected: Politics from outside the plenary: Unvaccinated AfD MPs currently have to sit in the stands and give their speeches from there.

Cartoon of the Day:

Abuse

And tonight?

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Visitors in front of the house of the Wannsee Conference in 1982: At that time, the villa was still used as a school camp

Photo: AP

On a grim anniversary, could you watch the horrible but great film The Wannsee Conference, directed by Matti Geschonnek. The film is available in the ZDF media library. 80 years ago today, a team of Nazi bureaucrats met in a villa on Wannsee to discuss the organization of the mass murder of Jews at a meeting followed by breakfast. The meeting organized at Reinhard Heydrich's invitation to plan the Holocaust, which my SPIEGEL colleague Felix Bohr described in an oppressive story (he was already mentioned in this "situation in the evening"), has already been filmed several times.

But never as implacable and cool as von Geschonnek: With maximum concentration, his film reveals the prosaic and cruel aspects of an almost ordinary official meeting.

In a group that is sometimes stressed, sometimes relaxed for joking, his protagonists talk with German thoroughness about the technical details of the extermination of people, as if building permits were involved.

A lovely evening.

Yours sincerely,

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