Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI asked for forgiveness for mistakes he made when handling sexual abuse cases while serving as archbishop from 1977 to 1982.
Benedict, 94, said in a letter released by the Vatican on Tuesday that his failure to confront the sexual abuse scandals amounted to a “grievous fault” for which he is expressing his “profound shame.”
“However great my fault may be today, the Lord forgives me, if I sincerely allow myself to be examined by him, and am really prepared to change,” he said. “I have seen at first hand the effects of a most grievous fault. And I have come to understand that we ourselves are drawn into this grievous fault whenever we neglect it or fail to confront it with the necessary decisiveness and responsibility, as too often happened and continues to happen.”
Benedict pushed back on the “hurtful” assertion that he was a “liar” after he was prompted to apologize for a mistake contained in his testimony during an investigation into sexual abuse allegations.
POPE BENEDICT XVI SAYS DENIAL OF 1980 MEETING ABOUT PREDATORY PRIEST WAS A ‘MISTAKE’
“In no way does it detract from the care and diligence that, for those friends, were and continue to be an evident and absolute imperative. To me it proved deeply hurtful that this oversight was used to cast doubt on my truthfulness, and even to label me a liar,” he added. “I am particularly grateful for the confidence, support, and prayer that Pope Francis personally expressed to me.”
A report released by German law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl in January following a two-year independent investigation into abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising found that Benedict failed to prevent the abuse of four minors between 1977 and 1982 while serving as archbishop. Investigators said then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger did not act properly on knowledge of abuse.
Benedict confirmed in his letter Tuesday that he had assistance from “a small group of friends” in compiling his 82-page testimony for the investigation. Last month, he corrected an error in which he told investigators he didn’t recall having a discussion while serving as archbishop about Peter Hullermann, a priest who was accused of abusing an estimated 23 boys from 1973 to 1996. During the meeting, Benedict and other leaders decided to provide therapy for Hullermann but did not make a decision about his assignment, according to investigators.
A separate letter that was released by Benedict’s lawyers on Tuesday and obtained by the Associated Press argued, “As an archbishop, Cardinal Ratzinger was not involved in any cover-up of acts of abuse.”
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Benedict served as pope from 2005 to 2013, when he resigned. He was succeeded by Francis. Benedict was the first pope to resign since 1415 and is living in the Vatican.
