A report into sexual abuse in the German diocese of Munich has accused former Pope Benedict XVI of failing to prevent wrongdoings by clerics
An inquest announced on Thursday found former Pope Benedict XVI had failed to prevent abuse by clerics during his tenure as Archbishop of Munich.
Benedict has repeatedly refuted allegations that he was aware of abuse claims in the 1970s and ‘80s, stating in 2013 that he “never tried to cover up these things.”However, lawyers have rejected this denial, arguing that they believe he was aware of the actions of priests but “the church didn’t do anything.”
In a damning assessment, the report states that “then-Archbishop Cardinal Ratzinger can be accused of misconduct” over the handling of four cases, after examining how the church dealt with abuse allegations between 1945 and 2019.
“During his time in office there were abuse cases happening … He claims that he didn’t know about certain facts, although we believe that this is not so, according to what we know,” one of the lawyers said.
