The Bishop of Regensburg, Rudolf Voderholzer, asked for forgiveness after making statements in connection with the Munich abuse report.
Regensburg/Frankfurt M. – The Bishop of Regensburg, Rudolf Voderholzer, asked for forgiveness after making statements in connection with the Munich abuse report. “People, especially victims of abuse, feel offended by me, hurt, are outraged. It makes me sad and almost makes me despair, »he wrote in a statement distributed on Friday. He should not have expressed his criticism in a short form the day before during the synodal assembly in Frankfurt am Main, “since the train of thought cannot be explained in a few lines or three minutes”. He is extremely sorry about that.
At the meeting on Thursday, Voderholzer pointed out that a criminal law reform from 1973 no longer counted child abuse as a crime “on the basis of sexological judgments that assume that the interrogations are much worse for the children and young people concerned than they are basically harmless cases of abuse». And further: This must be taken into account when judging the behavior of the church in the 1970s and 80s. The bishop’s comments had sparked outrage. Several delegates sharply condemned her.
“You know that I stand by your side and do my best to ensure that you receive the greatest possible justice,” wrote Voderholzer on Friday to those affected. The trivialization of pedophilia and pederasty as well as sex with children – “which fortunately we all classify today as a fundamental crime” – is a scandal of the 1970s.
After the meeting on Thursday, Voderholzer had already protested that he had been misunderstood and did not want to adopt the view that was widespread at the time. The statement goes on to say: “My concern is precisely: real commitment to the victims, unequivocal fight against the perpetrators and constant efforts to process, clarify and, above all, prevent.” (dpa)
#Bishop #asks #forgiveness #statements #Munich #abuse #report