Status: 02/02/2022 8:39 p.m
Cardinal Reinhard Marx from Munich has been criticized for how the church deals with cases of abuse. Now he has given an interview with remarkable statements on the marriage of priests.
In an interview, Munich Cardinal Reinhard Marx spoke out in favor of Catholic priests being allowed to marry. “It would be better for everyone to create the opportunity for celibate and married priests,” Marx told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. “Some priests would be better off if they were married. Not just for sexual reasons, but because it would be better for their lives and they wouldn’t be lonely. We need to have these discussions.”
“Many deadlocks created”
Marx described the celibate way of life as “precarious”. When asked whether he saw a connection between celibacy and child sexual abuse, Marx replied that one could not say in general. “But this way of life and this male alliance also attracts people who are not suitable, who are sexually immature. And sexuality is just part of the human being, and that never goes away.” Catholic sexual morals have “created many deadlocks”.
allegation of misconduct
The Catholic Church has been heavily criticized for numerous cases of abuse. Experts from the Westpfahl Spilker Wastl law firm had also accused Pope Emeritus Benedict of misconduct in dealing with abusers during his time as Archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1982. Benedict, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, rejected this and justified himself in a long letter of defence.
However, he later had to admit that he made a false statement on one important point. Marx said to Benedict, who was asked to apologize by the chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Georg Bätzing: “I don’t want to make a demand through the media, I want to express a hope. That he, as announced, expresses himself comprehensively. And that the declaration also contains a good word of sympathy with those affected”.