The public prosecutor’s office in the German city of Munich is investigating 42 cases related to the report on the report on the alleged sexual abuse cover-up in the Catholic Church that was presented this Thursday.
(Also: Pope Francis reiterates commitment to do justice to victims of abuse)
As confirmed to Efe by the spokeswoman for the prosecution, Anne Leiding, the proceedings refer to ecclesiastical representatives to whom the report, which covers the period from 1945 to 2019, attributes reprehensible conduct and who are still alive.
“Which criminal law rules were violated is still being examined,” added Leiding, who explained that the law firm that prepared the report made available to the prosecution the information that gave rise to the proceedings in August of last year.
The document, commissioned by the Cardinal Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Reinhard Marx, accuses those responsible for that archdiocese of not having done enough to clarify the abuses committed against almost 500 victims by 235 perpetrators.
(You can consult: Abuse report attributes Benedict XVI not having acted in four cases)
One of the findings that has had the greatest media echo is the inaction of the pope emeritus Benedict XVI before at least four cases in his time at the head of the archdiocese in the 1980s and his lack of cooperation with the investigators, who conclude that it is false that he was not aware of the facts.
Cardinal Marx declared himself “shocked and ashamed” upon learning of the content of the report, although the Catholic Church in Germany it will not be officially positioned until after it has thoroughly analyzed the conclusions, next week.
Markus Söder, the prime minister of Bavaria – the “Land” with a Catholic majority to which the archdiocese in which the abuses took place belongs – described the report as a “long road to the abyss”, in statements quoted by the regional chain “Bayerischer Rundfkunk “.
(Keep reading: The pope asks for ‘a firm will to clarify’ in cases of abuse)
In addition, he stated that the Catholic Church it must modify its structures and clearly commit itself to a “zero tolerance” policy towards aggressors.
For her part, at a press conference today in Berlin, the deputy spokesperson for the federal government Christiane Hoffmann called the report a “step to which other steps must follow” and called on the Church to carry out “a transparent and complete review.”
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