The Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, commented on the report presented this morning on how to deal with sexual abuse in the archdiocese.
In his almost five-minute statement, Marx acknowledged a moral responsibility for himself. According to Marx, it has been known for years that in the Catholic Church those responsible have “looked the other way” when it comes to cases of abuse. Work on the work started in 2010. This is far from the end, this process will continue.
For him, according to Marx, the encounters with the victims of sexual abuse were a turning point. “I apologize on behalf of the Archdiocese for the suffering inflicted on the victims,” the cardinal said.
The report, which the Munich law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl (WSW) presented on Thursday morning, details the omissions in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising in connection with the cases of abuse. In particular, it burdens the emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. heavy. During his time as archbishop in Munich from 1977 to 1982, the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger behaved erroneously in four cases. In addition, he is said to have made false statements about his responsibility in a particularly serious case. The experts rated his account as “little credible”.
According to the report commissioned by the archdiocese, the current Archbishop Marx also showed misconduct in two cases of abuse. Marx was expressly invited to the presentation of the report but, according to the lawyers, declined to appear. The reviewers criticized this. “We deeply regret his absence,” said Marion Westpfahl.
The report examines cases of abuse from 1945 to 2019, and there are indications of at least 497 victims of sexualised violence. According to the experts, 247 victims were male and 182 female, and in 68 cases an assignment was not possible, said lawyer Martin Pusch, one of the authors of the report. 60 percent of the affected boys were between eight and 14 years old. Pusch emphasized that the numbers only covered the bright field. The law firm is assuming a much larger number of unreported cases.
Marx said the report was an important building block in the workup. The archdiocese will also continue to exchange information with the advisory board for those affected and the independent commission for processing cases of abuse. On the one hand, it is about processing the cases, but also about renewing and reforming the church. “The abuse crisis is and will remain a deep shock for the church,” says Marx.
Journalists were not allowed to ask questions about Marx’s statement. First you have to study the report carefully. There will be another press conference next Thursday, at which Marx will then comment in more detail.