Report accuses retired pope of mishandling abuse

Two years ago, the Munich diocese commissioned a law firm to investigate how churches handled abuse cases between 1945 and 2019. The firm released the 1,900-page report Thursday, describing nearly 500 victims in the 74-year span and instances when leaders did not punish perpetrators. Most of the victims were young, and at least 173 priests were identified as abusers.

What are the allegations? The firm pointed to four cases in which former Pope Benedict XVI, 94, known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger when he was archbishop of the diocese between 1977 and 1982, allowed priests to continue working despite evidence of sexual abuse. He was accused of letting a convicted priest serve in the Munich diocese and approving the transfer of a pedophile priest to Munich to undergo therapy in 1980. Pope Benedict has denied knowledge of most of the cases. The law firm said that although he provided extensive testimony for the report, some claims were not consistent with church files.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Kiley Crossland’s report on attempts to address the clergy sexual abuse crisis by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.