{"id":22054,"date":"2021-06-18T02:39:35","date_gmt":"2021-06-18T07:39:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/archbishop-offers-to-resign-over-sex-abuse-charges\/"},"modified":"2021-06-18T02:39:35","modified_gmt":"2021-06-18T07:39:35","slug":"archbishop-offers-to-resign-over-sex-abuse-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/archbishop-offers-to-resign-over-sex-abuse-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"Archbishop offers to resign over sex abuse charges"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A top cleric in Germany\u2019s\u00a0Catholic Church<\/a>\u00a0has offered to resign as the Archbishop of Munich, saying he shared \u201cresponsibility for the catastrophe of\u00a0sexual abuse<\/a>\u201d by church officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn essence, it is important to me to share the responsibility for the catastrophe of the sexual abuse by Church officials over the past decades,\u201d Cardinal Reinhard Marx wrote to\u00a0Pope Francis<\/a>\u00a0in a letter sent on May 21 that was published Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe investigations and reports of the last ten years have consistently shown that there have been many personal failures and administrative mistakes but also institutional or \u2018systemic\u2019 failure,\u201d the letter continued.<\/p>\n

Pope Francis has not yet accepted Marx\u2019s resignation, and the Archbishop has been told to remain in post until a decision is made, a statement from the Archdiocese in Munich said. It also noted that Marx has \u201crepeatedly considered resigning from office in recent months.\u201d Marx told journalists on Friday that \u201cthe Pope himself wanted to see my letter published.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is painful for me to witness the severe damage to the bishops\u2019 reputation in the ecclesiastical and secular perception which may even be at its lowest,\u201d Marx wrote in the letter. \u201cI feel that through remaining silent, neglecting to act and over-focusing on the reputation of the Church I have made myself personally guilty and responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2018,\u00a0a report from Germany\u2019s Catholic Church<\/a>\u00a0admitted to \u201cat least\u201d 3,677 cases of child sex abuse by the clergy between 1946 and 2014, local media reported at the time. The report, which took four years to assemble, found the victims were mostly boys, more than half of whom were aged 13 or younger. Every sixth case involved a rape and at least 1,670 clergy were involved. Much of the sex abuse took place at Catholic Indian mission boarding schools throughout the west.<\/p>\n

Marx cited that report in his resignation letter, noting that after it was published, he publicly stated that \u201cwe have failed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut who is this \u2018We\u2019?\u201d he wrote. \u201cI also belong to this circle. And this means that I must also draw personal consequences from this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe one possibility to express this willingness to take over responsibility is my resignation,\u201d he added, noting that he hoped his actions could be a \u201csignal for a new beginning, for a new awakening\u201d of the Church.<\/p>\n

Survivor Matthias Katsch<\/a>, who was abused by a priest in Berlin when he was 13, said in a statement to CNN on Friday that Marx\u2019s resignation was an \u201cimpressive step\u201d and a \u201ctestimony of leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have always pointed out that the abuse crisis of the Catholic Church is not about a number of isolated cases, but that it is a systemic failure. As a leader in this system, Cardinal Marx has now personally decided to take responsibility. This is an exemplary act, as those affected have long called for,\u201d Katsch, who is the spokesperson for the survivor group Eckiger Tisch, said in a published statement.<\/p>\n

Katsch added that he was hopeful that Marx\u2019s move would bring survivor-supported initiatives to the fore, including the establishment of a truth commission and compensation for victims.<\/p>\n

Marx\u2019s resignation comes amid a growing uproar among German Catholics\u00a0over the abuse<\/a>\u00a0and a steady decline in church membership.<\/p>\n

Last week, the Pope sent two senior foreign bishops to investigate the Archdiocese of Cologne, Germany\u2019s largest,\u00a0over its handling of abuse cases<\/a>, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will face possible mistakes and failure in individual cases to be investigated in detail which were committed during my terms of office and which will then have to be reviewed and evaluated pursuant to objective criteria,\u201d Marx wrote in his letter.<\/p>\n

A report on abuse in the cardinal\u2019s Munich diocese is due later this year.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week,\u00a0the Pope issued<\/a>\u00a0the most extensive revision to Catholic Church law in four decades, insisting that bishops take action against clerics who abuse minors and vulnerable adults, commit fraud or attempt to ordain women, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n

At a Vatican summit in February 2019, Marx admitted that documents that could have contained proof of clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church were destroyed or never drawn up.<\/p>\n

\u201cFiles that could have documented the terrible deeds and named those responsible were destroyed or not even created,\u201d Marx said at the summit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stipulated procedures and processes for the prosecution offenses were deliberately not complied with \u2026 such standard practices will make it clear that it is not transparency which damages the church, but rather the acts of abuse committed, the lack of transparency, or the ensuing coverup.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a later press conference during the summit, Marx said that the information about destroying files came from a study commissioned by German bishops in 2014. The study was \u201cscientific\u201d and did not name the particular church leaders or dioceses in Germany that destroyed the files.<\/p>\n

In April of this year, Marx told German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier that he would not be comfortable accepting the \u201cfederal cross of merit\u201d \u2014 the highest state tribute for individual services to the nation \u2014 since survivors of abuse would have found it offensive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is my great request to you not to carry out the award,\u201d he said. \u201cI am convinced that this is the right step with consideration for those who obviously offended by the award, and especially with consideration for those affected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Approximately 27% of Germany\u2019s population is Catholic, according to 2019 government figures. Catholics however, have been leaving the church in steady droves over the last 60 years, with the proportion of the Catholic population dropping from 45.9% to 27.2% between 1956 and 2019.<\/p>\n

Marx, born in Germany\u2019s North Rhine-Westphalia region in 1953, became a priest in 1979 and a bishop in 1996.<\/p>\n

In 2007, he was elevated to Archbishop of Munich and Friesing by Pope Benedict XVI, who once also held that position. In 2013, he was appointed to the Council of Cardinals, a group of nine Cardinals who advise the Pope.<\/p>\n

He also served as the head of the German Bishops\u2019 Conference \u2014 the governing body of the country\u2019s Catholic Church \u2014 until last year, when he declined to run for a second term, saying \u201cI think it should be the turn of the younger generation and perhaps it is good if this role changes hands more frequently in future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 67-year-old cardinal has also been a driving force in efforts to modernize the Church in Germany, speaking on\u00a0the role of women in the clergy<\/a>, celibacy, sex and identity.<\/p>\n

In 2011, he spoke out against the Church\u2019s rhetoric against LGBTQ+ people,\u00a0saying<\/a>\u00a0that the Church had \u201cnot always adopted the right tone.\u201d In 2014, he suggested that Church doctrine on family issues was not fully formed.<\/p>\n

Marx said that the Church must \u201clearn from the crisis\u201d of sex abuse, saying: \u201cWe are not yet at the end of the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Contact Native Sun News Today at editor@nativesunnews.today<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The post Archbishop offers to resign over sex abuse charges<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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<\/span><\/div>

A top cleric in Germany\u2019s\u00a0Catholic Church\u00a0has offered to resign as the Archbishop of Munich, saying he shared \u201cresponsibility for the catastrophe of\u00a0sexual abuse\u201d by church officials. \u201cIn essence, it is important to me to share the responsibility for the catastrophe of the sexual abuse by Church officials over the past <\/p>\n

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Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> June 18, 2021<\/p>\n

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