The cardinal of Munich speaks of an institutional or systemic failure in this huge scandal
Acknowledging a “failure” of the Catholic Church in the “drama of sexual abuse” within the institution, the Archbishop of Munich and former President of the German Episcopal Assembly, Reinhard Marx, asked Pope Francis to release him.
Acknowledging a “failure” of the Catholic Church in the “drama of sexual abuse” within the institution, the Archbishop of Munich and former President of the German Episcopal Assembly, Reinhard Marx, asked Pope Francis to release him.
According to a statement, it also denounces “an institutional or systemic failure” in this huge scandal that stains the German Catholic Church.
In a letter to the pope on May 21, in which he refers extensively to the announcement, the prelate estimates that the Catholic Church has reached a “dead spot”.
Recent discussions have shown that “some within the Church do not want to accept this responsibility and therefore the complicity of the institution and therefore oppose any dialogue for reform and renewal in relation to the crisis of sexual abuse,” he continued in his letter. to the pope.
The archbishop of Munich and Freising had last month denied the highest German distinction, the Federal Cross of Value, which German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier wanted to award him.
At the end of May , Pope Francis ordered an investigation into cases of child sexual abuse in the diocese of Cologne, the largest in Germany, which has been in serious crisis for months, according to the French Agency and the Athenian News Agency.
The pope appointed two “apostolic visitors”, special envoys, whom he instructed to “understand the complex pastoral situation in the archdiocese and at the same time to investigate possible errors” of Cardinal Rainer-Maria Voelki and other prelates of the diocese.
Conservative Cardinal Woelkie is mainly accused of covering up for a long time two priests of the Düsseldorf religious community who are suspected of sexual violence.
