Two perpetrator priests in pastoral activity
Benedict XVI’s Responsibility Theory
[천지일보=이지솔 기자] At least 497 children have been sexually abused over 74 years in the Archdiocese of Munich, Germany, a study has found. As a result, the theory of responsibility for the former Pope Benedict XVI, who served as the Archbishop of Munich, is being raised.
At the request of the German Catholic Church, the Munich Law Firm WSW Attorney’s Office prepared a report on sexual abuse cases in the Archdiocese of Munich from 1945 to 2019 and published it on the 20th (local time).
The 1,000-page report found that between 1945 and 2019 at least 497 people were sexually abused in the Archdiocese of Munich, of whom 60% were children and adolescents aged 8 to 13 years. At least 235 clergy, including 173 priests and 9 deacons, were involved in the abuse, WSW said. Of these, 40 were re-introduced into pastoral work even after they were found sexually abused. Eighteen people were found to have had a criminal record.
Former Pope Benedict XVI (94), Archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1981 (reigned 2005 to 2013), was also responsible for four of these cases, the report pointed out. This is because two priests convicted of sexual abuse in court were found to have continued their pastoral work while Benedict XVI was Archbishop.
In this regard, Archbishop Georg Genswein (65), personal assistant to Benedict XVI, said in a statement, “As the Emeritus Pope (Benedict XVI) has said several times during his reign, he is shocked and shamed by the abuse of minors by the clergy. “You express your feelings,” he said. “We will carefully review it over the next few days.”
The Holy See also expressed deep regret for the incident. Vatican spokesman Bruni Matteo reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s commitment to ensure that this does not happen again.
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