Pope Benedict wants to defend himself against allegations in court – Bavaria

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. wants to defend himself after a lawsuit against him at the district court in Traunstein. A court spokeswoman confirmed on Tuesday the German Press Agency that he had announced his willingness to defend himself. This clears the way for a possible negotiation.

If the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had not indicated this readiness to defend himself, a so-called default judgment would have been issued – but without the court having dealt with the allegations against him.

A man who claims to have been abused by the convicted repeat offender Priest H. had filed a civil action, a so-called declaratory action, at the Traunstein District Court in the summer. It is directed not only at Ratzinger, who was Archbishop of Munich and Freising when the abuser was transferred to his diocese, but also at the convicted man himself, the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising and Ratzinger’s successor as Archbishop, Cardinal Friedrich Wetter.

The whole thing no longer has any criminal significance, but it is about the big question of guilt that those responsible for the diocese may have charged themselves in the case.

According to dpa information, Ratzinger is now being represented in the matter by the law firm Hogan Lovells, which claims to be one of the “ten leading commercial law firms” worldwide. The law firm did not initially respond to a request. According to the court, all four defendants have asked for an extension of the deadline and therefore have until January 24 to respond to the content of the lawsuit.

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