CNN
A top cleric in Germany’s Catholic Church has offered to resign as the Archbishop of Munich, saying he shared “responsibility for the catastrophe of sexual abuse” by church officials.
“In essence, it is important to me to share the responsibility for the catastrophe of the sexual abuse by Church officials over the past decades,” Cardinal Reinhard Marx wrote to Pope Francis in a letter sent on May 21 that was published Friday.
“The 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 ‘systemic’ failure,” the letter continued.
Pope Francis has not yet accepted Marx’s 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 “repeatedly considered resigning from office in recent months.” Marx told journalists on Friday that “the Pope himself wanted to see my letter published.”
“It is painful for me to witness the severe damage to the bishops’ reputation in the ecclesiastical and secular perception which may even be at its lowest,” Marx wrote in the letter. “I 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.”
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