Former Pope Benedict XVI failed to intervene in four child abuse cases within the German Roman Catholic Church.
An investigation by law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl into abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising brought this to light. Pope Emeritus was Archbishop of the diocese from 1977 to 1982.
It has also become known that there were at least 497 victims of child abuse by the clergy between 1945 and 2019. The victims were mainly underage boys. However, according to the researchers, many cases have never been reported.
Benedict, a cardinal known as Joseph Ratzinger, has denied the allegations. The researchers call that false. The researchers said that two people who were proven to have abused boys were allowed to continue to work at the church. In addition, Pope Emeritus has never shown any interest in the victims.
The abuse is said to have been committed by at least 235 perpetrators. Current Archbishop Cardinal Reinhard Marx is also said to have ignored at least two abuse cases. In addition, the abuse was committed by at least 173 priests and nine deacons.