In a letter sent by the Vatican, former Pope Benedict XVI persists and signs: he never concealed acts of sexual assault when he was archbishop or sovereign pontiff, as a report published in Germany asserts.
However, he admitted to having “looked in the eyes the consequences of a very big fault”.
And, he emphasized, "I have learned to understand that we ourselves are drawn into this great fault when we neglect it or when we do not face it with the necessary decision and responsibility, as it is happened too often and that it still happens”.
“I can only express, once again, with regard to all the victims of sexual abuse, my deep shame, my great pain and my sincere request for forgiveness.
I had great responsibilities in the Catholic Church.
My pain is all the greater for the abuses and errors that have occurred during my tenure in different places,” whether he was Archbishop of Munich (1977-1982) or Pope (2005-2013).
Is the report telling the truth?
According to the report by the firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl (WSW) listing more than 400 victims of sexual violence in the archdiocese of Munich and Freising, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, before he became pope, was aware of the paedocriminal past of a priest, Peter Hullermann.
In a document also sent Tuesday by the Vatican, advisers to the pope emeritus refute the accusations of the 8,000-page report they sifted through for him.
"As archbishop, Cardinal Ratzinger was not involved in any act of concealment of abuse", assure these four advisers, referring to "inaccurate" information contained in the German report.
Society
Child crime in the Church: Benedict XVI changes his statements after a report published in Germany
Society
Child crime in the Church: A new case breaks out in the dioceses of Lyon, Saint-Etienne and Grenoble
Priest
sexual assault
Church
Pope
Benedict XVI
Religion
child crime
World
0 comment
0 share
Share on Messenger
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on Flipboard
Share on Pinterest
Share on Linkedin
Send by Mail
To safeguard
A fault ?
To print