Abuse in the Catholic Church: Prosecutors examine 42 cases

There have already been a number of expert opinions on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church – but the Munich expert opinion made particularly big waves – and is now also a case for the judiciary.

The new report on sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising shakes the Catholic Church. Those affected raise serious allegations, and the judiciary is examining whether church leaders have possibly made themselves punishable. The Munich I public prosecutor’s office is currently investigating 42 cases of misconduct by church leaders, confirmed the authority’s spokeswoman, Anne Leiding, to the German Press Agency.

The Westpfahl Spilker Wastl law firm, which wrote the sensational judgment on behalf of the diocese, made “41 cases available to the public prosecutor’s office in August 2021,” said Leiding – and another case in November 2021. “They only concern ecclesiastical leaders who are still alive and were transmitted in a highly anonymised form.”

If, on this basis, “suspects regarding possibly criminally relevant behavior on the part of church officials arise”, the relevant documents would be requested from the law firm and, if necessary, passed on to the responsible public prosecutor’s office, said Leiding. “Which criminal law norms were violated is still the subject of the examination.”

Serious allegations against Ratzinger and Marx

The WSW report, commissioned by the archdiocese of Munich and Freising itself, comes to the conclusion that cases of sexual abuse in the diocese have not been dealt with appropriately for decades and accuses the former archbishops Friedrich Wetter and Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. , concrete and personal misconduct in several cases. The current archbishop, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, has also been accused of formal misconduct in two cases.

The experts speak of at least 497 victims and 235 alleged perpetrators, but assume that there are significantly more unreported cases. Ratzinger’s role is particularly explosive. Because the experts assume that in all probability he did not tell the truth.

The renowned canon lawyer Thomas Schüller becomes clearer: “He clearly lied,” he said in the evening on ARDfocus. Benedict had repeatedly emphasized that he had not attended a meeting in 1980 that decided that a priest who had abused boys in the diocese of Essen should be transferred to Bavaria. Ratzinger was Archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1977 to 1982.

Sharp criticism of Ratzinger’s role

The law firm WSW submitted minutes according to which Ratzinger – contrary to what he claimed – had taken part in the meeting. “The damage to Benedict’s reputation is great, precisely because he has always shown himself to be a fighter against sexual abuse in the church,” said the Catholic theologian Daniel Bogner of the dpa. Ratzinger’s participation in the meeting is documented, “because the minutes report things that only he can know from a conversation with Pope John Paul II,” emphasized Schüller focus.

Schüller called the fact that this conversation was about the revoking of the teaching license for Ratzinger’s long-time liberal opponent, the theologian Hans Küng, a “pitch joke of history”. “Today he doesn’t want to see the truth, but he denies it and tries to shift all responsibility away from himself and in doing so he snubs the victims a second time,” Schüller criticized the pope emeritus.

Theologian: Marx’s resignation appropriate

Today’s Archbishop of Munich, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, is already further along. “He’s really understood now that he has to side with the victims,” ​​said Schüller. “We’ll see if it’s too late.” Agnes Wich, on the other hand, sees Marx’s role differently and sharply criticized the fact that he was not present when the report was presented and later only gave a brief statement. A more detailed one will follow in a week.

Following the revelations in the report, theologian Bogner believes that Marx’s resignation would be appropriate. It is conceivable that the archbishop of Munich and Freising will offer his resignation to the pope again – as he did last year – in response to the report, said the professor of moral theology and ethics at the Swiss University of Freiburg. “And I hope he will not accept a renewed rejection by Pope Francis this time. This would initially only be a symbolic, but very strong sign that the previous structures of the church are no longer working.”

The Munich report will probably further increase the number of people leaving the church. What is now decisive is how this is dealt with within the Church: “Does it still remain the case that individuals are held accountable, or are structural conclusions drawn from this?”