Benedict acknowledges he was at meeting where pedophile priest was discussed

Pope Benedict XVI acknowledges cheers from the trustworthy in St. Peter’s Sq. in 2007.

(Plinio Lepri / Related Press)

BERLIN — 

Retired Pope Benedict XVI has acknowledged that he did attend a 1980 assembly at which the switch of a pedophile priest to his then-diocese was mentioned, saying an editorial error was chargeable for his earlier assertion that he wasn’t there.

Authors of a report on sexual abuse between 1945 and 2019 within the Munich archdiocese, which Benedict — then German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — led from 1977 to 1982, on Thursday faulted his dealing with of 4 instances throughout his time as archbishop and mentioned his declare that he wasn’t on the assembly lacked credibility.

Benedict, who offered prolonged written testimony, denies any wrongdoing on his half.

One case concerned a priest’s switch to Munich to endure remedy, which was authorized beneath Ratzinger in 1980.

The priest was allowed to renew pastoral work, a choice that the church has mentioned was made by a lower-ranking official with out consulting the archbishop. In 1986, the priest obtained a suspended sentence for molesting a boy.

In a press release Monday to Germany’s KNA Catholic information company, Benedict’s longtime secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, mentioned the retired pope needed to make clear that he was in reality on the January 1980 assembly of native church officers wherein the priest’s switch to Munich was mentioned. He mentioned Benedict apologized for the error.

“He want to stress that this didn't occur out of any unhealthy intent, however was the consequence of a mistake within the editorial processing of his assertion,” Gaenswein mentioned.

Gaenswein confused, nevertheless, that no resolution on the priest’s resumption of pastoral work was made on the assembly and that it solely authorized his being put up in Munich throughout his remedy.

Gaenswein mentioned Benedict was nonetheless studying the report rigorously and would want a while to complete. He added that there can be a press release from the previous pope on the report and that it could spell out how the faulty assertion concerning the assembly occurred.

The assertion to KNA was reported by the Vatican’s in-house Vatican Information portal.