Former Pope Benedict XVI. has corrected an essential statement on the Munich abuse report. Contrary to his previous account, he did take part in the Ordinariate meeting on January 15, 1980, according to a statement available to the Catholic News Agency (here the full text of the document). However, the error was “not done out of bad faith”, but “the result of an error in the editorial processing of his statement”. He is “very sorry” for this and he apologizes.
The report published last Thursday by the Westpfahl Spilker Wastl (WSW) law firm states that Joseph Ratzinger behaved erroneously in four cases during his time as Archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1982. In addition, the experts expressed considerable doubts about his statements on a particularly explosive case. At the Ordinariate Conference in question in January 1980, the aim was to admit a priest from the diocese of Essen to Munich who had repeatedly been accused of child abuse. In his first statement during the hearing, which was included in the WSW report, Benedict XVI. denied attending the meeting.
In the meeting in question, the Pope Emeritus now writes, however, “no decision was made about a pastoral assignment by the priest in question”. Rather, the request was only made to “enable accommodation for the man during his therapeutic treatment in Munich”.
The former pope wants to give a detailed statement at a later date, said his private secretary Archbishop Georg Gänswein. The 94-year-old asks for your understanding that the full review of the 1900-page report will take time. According to the statement, the reading of the statements so far has filled him “with shame and pain at the suffering” inflicted on the victims.