The district court of Traunstein has apparently started the preliminary proceedings for a declaratory action against the former Pope Benedict XVI. and other people and institutions. As Correctiv, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) and the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit” announced together on Monday, the three media have the relevant documents. In addition to the former Pope, the declaratory action is also directed against the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, its former Archbishop Cardinal Friedrich Wetter and the former priest Peter H.
According to the announcement, the defendants now have two weeks each “to indicate the intention of the defense” – with the former Pope Benedict XVI. the “emergency period” is said to be one month. In June, the Berlin lawyer Andreas Schulz filed a civil court declaratory action for a victim of the abuser Peter H. Although no criminal conviction can be achieved in this way, the Church’s guilt can be determined. Schulz’ client hopes that a court will determine that H. abused him and must therefore pay compensation.
Peter H. also plays a central role in the January 2022 abuse report by the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. In the 1990s, H. is said to have abused several children and young people in the Archdiocese of Munich, including the plaintiff. The management of the archdiocese around the then Archbishop Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and later Pope Benedict XVI. had admitted the pedophile priest to the archdiocese in 1980 and had not prevented his dealings with young people – although H. had previously been caught in several sexual assaults in Essen. According to lawyers, it is controversial whether the Pope Emeritus can be prosecuted for the attacks.
Experts give the lawsuit a chance if the church refrains from invoking the statute of limitations – as has already happened in internal church proceedings. The former Archbishop of Munich, Cardinal Wetter, announced that he did not want to apply for a statute of limitations.