Former Pope Benedict admits false testimony in child abuse cases Sexual Harassment

Ratzinger is accused of failing to take action against religious leaders on four counts of harassing the archbishop of Munich.

Former Pope Benedict XVI has admitted that he lied to a child rape questioning when he wrongly told German researchers that he did not attend the conference in 1980 when he was archbishop of Munich.

The approval came Monday after a report released last week of violence in the archdiocese from 1945 to 2019, says Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. failed to take action against the clergy on four separate occasions when he was archbishop between 1977 and 1982.

One case involved the transfer of a priest to Munich for treatment, which was approved by Ratzinger in 1980.

The priest was allowed to resume his work as a pastor, which the church said was made up of a lesser one without consulting the archbishop. In 1986, the priest received a suspended sentence for raping a young man.

At a press conference in Munich on Thursday, lawyers investigating the violence denied Benedict’s claim on page 82 that he did not remember attending a conference in 1980 to discuss the abusive priest. They said this contradicts the documents they have.

In a statement Monday, the former secretary general of the pope, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, said Benedict had attended the meeting but the failure “was due to oversight of the revision of the word” and “did not act in faith”.

Ganswein said no decision had been made at a 1980 conference on the new priesthood but a request for a place to stay during medical treatment.

“He (the pope) is very sorry for the inconvenience and is asking for forgiveness,” Ganswein said.

He added that Benedict was preparing to report the incident after investigating a nearly 2,000-page report, which was sent electronically last Thursday.

Benedict, 94, disabled and living in the Vatican, resigned from the pope in 2013.

“She carefully reads the words below, which make her feel ashamed and sad about the suffering of the victims,” ​​Ganswein said. A complete review “will take time because of his age and health,” he added.

In a report last Thursday, attorney Martin Pusch said Ratzinger had not taken any action against the perpetrators in four cases and that there appeared to be no interest in the victims.

“In all four cases, we have come to the conclusion that Archbishop Cardin Ratzinger could be charged with felony criminal mischief,” said Pusch.

“They still say they have no knowledge even though, in our opinion, it is difficult to connect with the text.”

Conservative supporters have backed the former pope, but groups of victims and experts say the German report’s findings tarnished the reputation of one of the leading Catholic theologians.