The always hesitant apologies of the Roman Catholic Church to the uncovered cases of abuse within the churches give the impression that they would like to let the grass grow over it as quickly as possible. Real reappraisal, let alone internal prevention and reforms, seem to be rather out of the question.
Inhalt / Content
Apparently, one only regrets what has become known
The number of unreported cases is likely to be much higher
After the processing of the cases of abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, Germany, took some time. It “only” took another year after the publication of the abuse report for Cardinal Reinhard Marx to speak again. At a press conference, he again asked the victims of sexualized violence for forgiveness, as katholisch.de reported. Marx sees himself “always responsible for the suffering associated with the deeds”. What has happened cannot be undone. Nevertheless, we must act differently now and in the future. “And I do that, and I can always improve on that,” says Marx. The Archbishop stressed that he was on the way.
The biggest omission was that “the perspective of those affected was initially not taken into account enough”. The church must admit this self-critically. Marx agreed. It is now crucial to consider the needs, concerns and impulses of those affected in the areas of processing and prevention.
Marx called on those affected by border violations, abuse and sexual assaults by church employees to get in touch with the independent external contacts.
Now the church is challenged to change, according to Marx. Now it’s about being a sign of hope for people despite all the events.
Abuse report – “Balance sheet of terror”
The abuse report by the Munich law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl was presented on January 20, 2022. The investigation period covers the years between 1945 and 2019. The focus was on the sexual abuse of minors and adult wards by full-time servants and clergy in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. The report shows that such incidents have taken place during all archbishops. Among them are 42 cases, which have occurred in church officials who are still alive. 497 victims were recorded and the alleged perpetrators include 173 priests. The total number of alleged perpetrators is 235. The summary of the law firm was “balance sheet of terror”.
Phrases are neither helpful nor preventive
The archbishop’s empty phrases cannot hide the fact that his concern, a Catholic Church changed for the better, is as hopeless as changing dogmas expressed “ex cathedra”.
In memory of:
The papacy’s self-understanding is the “godlike” representation of Jesus on earth. As early as 1302 AD, Pope Boniface VIII expressed this unequivocally in his bull “unam sanctam”. In this letter he stated that all living beings on earth were subject to the Pope. The Bishop of Rome rose to be the ruler of the world and thus entitled to complete control over the entire planet.
With the bull “romanus pontifex” in 1455 AD, Pope Nicholas V deprived every newborn child of the right to property.
Pope Sixtus IV went one step further and decreed the ownership of the body of every child with his bull “aeterni regis” in 1481 AD. Man himself has no property right over his body, but must submit to his role of bondage.
All this was not enough for Pope Paul III and in 1537 AD it also claimed the soul of every child. From now on, the soul is owned by the Roman Catholic Church.
Numerous Protestant clergymen agreed very early on about the “nature” of the Roman Catholic Church.
