Retired Pope Benedict XVI asked for forgiveness for abuse. However, he also did not admit wrongdoing. Here is everything you need to know.
Retired Pope Benedict XVI and his forgiveness for abuse
On Thursday, Pope Benedict XVI asked forgiveness for his “grievous faults” in the handling of clergy sex abuse cases. He also admitted to no specific or personal wrongdoing after an autonomous report criticized his actions during his archbishopship in Munich, Germany. “I have had great responsibilities in the Catholic Church. All the greater is my pain for the abuses and the errors that occurred in those different places during the time of my mandate,” stated the retired pope. The 94-year-old was reacting to a German law firm’s report from January 20. The firm had been tasked by the German church for looking into how sexual abuse cases were handled between 1945 and 2019. Benedict headed the archdiocese between 1977 to 1982 as the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
More on the issue and the official reply
The report faulted Pope Benedict XVI on his handling of four cases during his time as the archbishop. The report is accusing him of misconduct for failing to stop the priest’s ministry in cases despite criminal conviction. Additionally, the report showed the fault of his predecessors and successors. The report is gauging a minimum of 497 victims of abuse over the last few decades. They also suspect around 235 perpetrators to be involved.
On Tuesday, the Vatican released a letter where Retired Pope Benedict XVI responded to allegations made on him. In addition, there was an 82-page long technical reply from Benedict’s team of advisers and lawyers. “As an archbishop, Cardinal Ratzinger was not involved in any cover-up of acts of abuse,” they stated. The lawyers and advisers also added that the report did not reveal evidence that he was aware of the priests’ criminal history.
