DCardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising, apologized and admitted mistakes in the community during his visit to Garching an der Alz.
“It is a disaster to have a pastor convicted of abuse with you, and I apologize. The church system has failed,” Marx said, according to a statement issued by the archdiocese after praying with community representatives on Saturday. “I also personally apologize; even after 2010, many things can get better.”
Today we know that “abuse has also happened, and the pastor who works here is an abuser,” Marx said later in a press conference. “This is a betrayal of the message of Jesus, this is the failure of the institution for which I apologize.”
“Are there other victims?”
A priest convicted of sexual abuse has worked in Garching for about 20 years, even though he had previously abused children in another parish and was convicted for it. According to the diocese, he committed further crimes after being transferred to Garching, before Marx became the responsible bishop. The three victims stood up and accused the man of abusing them.
“I apologize for this failure,” Marx said. “We may have underestimated the tension, trauma and injury there.” He now knows that “acceptance and acceptance is a long story, and many people underestimate it.”
The cases known so far may be just the tip of the iceberg. “I can only ask you to pay attention: Are there any other victims, and do anyone want to tell their story?” said the cardinal.
How big should the impact be?
According to Marx, the Garching case will be dealt with in the Archdiocese’s Sexual Abuse Report, and it will continue to do so this year—as in other cases, including those during his tenure as the archbishop. “I don’t have a specific point to say that I covered up certain things,” Marx said. But: “I can’t say that I always fully understand everything myself.” Sometimes he may not look carefully enough. “Should I not try to learn more?” he asked. “I think it was my fault.”
A few weeks ago, Pope Francis rejected his resignation. He wanted to assume institutional and personal responsibilities. “The resignation is comprehensive,” Marx emphasized. “I am not a robot. As a human being, I support it, even if I make mistakes.”
This church Lessons must be learned from the scandal. He focused on the reform process and required the “Great Hall”: “If the shock did not lead to reform, then I don’t know how big the shock is.”
