At the age of 94, Retired Pope Benedict XVI said he knows he will soon stand before God's judgment and he prayed that he would be forgiven for his shortcomings, including in handling allegations of clerical sexual abuse.
Munich Cardinal Reinhard Marx said he wants to remain in office, at least for the time being, despite findings critical of how he handled some abuse cases in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.
The cardinal had offered his resignation last June, but
Amending a written statement made to a panel investigating clerical sexual abuse in his former Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, retired Pope Benedict XVI said he was present at a 1980 meeting to discuss the transfer of a priest accused of misconduct.
A law firm's report on how abuse cases were handled in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising incriminated retired Pope Benedict XVI, with lawyers accusing him of misconduct in four cases during his tenure as Munich archbishop.
In mid-January, the law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl is scheduled to publish a report into the handling of clerical sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.
The potentially explosive aspect is that three of the highest-ranking officials are still alive: Cardinal
Some of the world's most iconic Christmas markets in Germany and Austria were forced to close shortly after or just before they opened, as COVID-19 infections surged across Europe.
After the 2020 pre-vaccine, lockdowned Christmas season with no Christmas markets, the German-speaking countries
A report on the handling of sexual abuse cases in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising will not be presented this year as originally expected. The lawyers of the Munich law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl now plan to publish their findings in
The Catholic Church should take a leading role in protecting the environment and addressing climate change, said the bishop who is the commissioner for environmental and climate issues at the German bishops' conference. "We take our responsibility for creation seriously. As the
After meeting privately with Pope Francis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters that one of the issues they discussed was the importance of the church addressing the clerical sexual abuse scandal.
"The truth must come to light," she said after the meeting Oct.
The second Synodal Assembly of German Catholics ended Oct. 2 with overwhelming support for a range of proposals that, if adopted, would bring widespread reform to the church.
The assembly -- 230 members including laity, academics, clergy and bishops -- wrestled for three