Former Pope Benedict acknowledges 'errors occurred' in handling of
Munich abuse allegations
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[February 08, 2022]
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Former Pope
Benedict on Tuesday acknowledged that errors occurred in the handling of
sexual abuse cases while he was Archbishop of Munich decades ago but did
not directly address allegations in a report that he mishandled four
cases.
A separate analysis written by four collaborators, however, contests the
specific allegations against him.
Benedict, 94 and infirm, issued a letter following the report released
last month on abuse in the archdiocese from 1945 to 2019 which included
the alleged failure to take action in those cases by then Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger when he was Munich archbishop between 1977-1982.
"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," he wrote in the letter,
his first personal response to the report.
In another section of the one-and-a-half pages of German in the letter,
he openly wonders if he, as all Catholic do in a prayer known as the
Confiteor at Mass, should ask for forgiveness for what they have done
and what they have failed to do "by my fault, by my most grievous
fault".
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![](../images/020822PIX/news_w45.jpg)
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI gestures at Munich Airport before his
departure to Rome, June 22, 2020. Former Pope Benedict traveled to
his native Germany last week to visit his ailing older brother. Sven
Hoppe/Pool via REUTERS//File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Feb/08/images/ads/current/stclara_lda_SPONSOR_090519.png) He writes: "It is clear to me that
the words 'most grievous' do not apply each day and to every person
in the same way. Yet every day they do cause me to question if today
too I should speak of a most grievous fault."
He does not answer his own question but says he is consoled that God
forgives.
In the letter, Benedict says that despite any mistakes he may have
made, God would be the ultimate arbiter. "Quite soon, I shall find
myself before the final judge of my life."
After the German report was first issued, Benedict acknowledged that
he has been at a 1980 meeting over a sexual abuse case when
archbishop of Munich, saying he mistakenly told German investigators
he was not there.
At the time, Benedict's personal secretary, Archbishop Georg
Ganswein, said the omission was the result of an oversight in the
editing of the statement and not done out of bad faith.
In Monday's letter, Benedict says: "To me it proved deeply hurtful
that this oversight was used to cast doubt on my truthfulness, and
even to label me a liar."
(Reporting by Philip Pullella)
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