During a visit to Garching an der Alz, the Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, apologized for cases of abuse in the community and admitted mistakes.

“It is a disaster to have a pastor convicted of abuse with you and I apologize.

The church system has failed, ”said Marx, according to a statement from the archdiocese on Saturday after discussions in a joint prayer with community representatives.

“I also apologize personally;

Even after 2010, a lot could have gone better. "

Today we know "that abuse has also happened, that the pastor who worked here was an abuser," said Marx afterwards in a press conference.

"This is a betrayal of the message of Jesus and it is a failure of the institution for which I apologize."

"Are there any other victims?"

A priest convicted of sexual abuse had worked in Garching for around 20 years, although he had previously abused children in another parish and had been convicted for it.

According to the diocese, he committed further crimes after his transfer to Garching, which falls before Marx was the responsible bishop.

Three victims had come forward accusing the man of having abused them.

“I apologize for this failure,” said Marx.

“We have probably underestimated something of the tension and wounds and injuries there.” He now knows “that coming to terms with coming to terms is a long story and that many underestimate it”.

The cases that have become known so far may only be the tip of the iceberg.

"I can only ask you all to pay attention, to listen: Are there other victims, are there still people who want to tell their story?"

How big must the shock be?

According to Marx, the Garching case will be dealt with in the report on sexual abuse in the archbishopric, which is still expected for this year - like other cases, including those from his time as archbishop.

"I don't have a specific point now where I say I've covered something up," said Marx.

But: “I can't say of myself that I always knew everything exactly.” Sometimes he may not have looked closely enough.

"Shouldn't I have tried to know more?" He asked.

"I feel that is my fault."

With his resignation, which Pope Francis rejected a few weeks ago, he wanted to take on institutional but also very personal responsibility.

"The resignation was meant comprehensively," emphasized Marx.

“I'm not a robot.

As a person, I stand for it, even with my mistakes. "

The church must learn from the scandal, he demanded with a view to the reform process "Synodal Way": "If the shock does not lead to a reform, then I don't know how big the shock must be."