Pope Francis meets with retired Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican April 15, 2019. (CNS photo/Vatican Media via Reuters)
Assessment: With the Catholic Church in Germany, and around the world, facing charges of protecting abusive priests, former Pope Benedict XVI failed to take action against clerics accused of abuse, a Munich Church report has said …
A child abuse report released in Germany on Thursday found that former Pope Benedict XVI failed to act in four cases of mistreatment.
Benedict has denied the report, with a spokesperson expressing “shock and shame” at the findings.
“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” Romans 13:1
What does the report say?
According to law firm Westphal Spilker Wastl (WSW), which conducted the investigation, Benedict failed to prevent abuse of minors during his tenure as archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1977 to 1982.
“In a total of four cases, we reached a consensus there was a failure to act,” said attorney Martin Pusch, who presented the WSW report.
Two cases involve priests who were legally charged with child abuse and were allowed to continue their work in the church as pastors.
The church also took no official disciplinary action against the clergymen, and it appears that no care was given to their victims.
