Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI admitted on Monday (January 24) to having participated in a key meeting in 1980 on a German priest suspected of sexual assaults on minors, contrary to what he told the authors of an incriminating report published last week .
Read alsoFormer Pope Benedict XVI accused of inaction in four cases of pedophilia
In a letter published by his private secretary and quoted by the German Catholic news agency KNA, Benedict XVI “
wants now to clarify that, contrary to what appears in (his) hearing, he took part in the meeting of January 15, 1980
”.
His statements to the authors of the report published on January 20 by the firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl (WSW) were “
objectively incorrect
” on this point, but Benedict XVI refutes any “
bad faith
”.
The error, he asserts, "
is the result of an omission in the editing of his statements
."
He says to himself “
sorry for this mistake and asks for forgiveness
”.
Suspicions of serious child abuse
According to this report, which lists more than 400 victims of abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, before he became pope, was aware of the pedocriminal past of a priest, Peter Hullermann, even if he has always denied it. In 1980, this clergyman, suspected of serious child abuse, was transferred from North Rhine-Westphalia to Bavaria. However, according to the protocol, quoted by the report, of Hullermann's admission meeting, his past was mentioned and Bishop Ratzinger was present. If he now recognizes his presence, Benedict XVI maintains that “
no decision has been taken on the attribution of a pastoral mission to the priest concerned
”."
Only the request to provide him with accommodation during his therapy in Munich was accepted
," he said.
Read alsoSexual abuse in Germany: Benedict XVI refutes any fault
The 94-year-old pope emeritus, who has been living in seclusion in a Vatican monastery since his resignation in 2013, has not yet directly reacted to the substance of the report, having not had time to read it in full, according to his secretary. particular.
But he rejects all responsibility.
The Holy See, for its part, said it wanted to study the report in detail, reiterating “
its feeling of shame and remorse
” for the violence committed.