Emeritus Pope Benedict: Statement from Archbishop Georg Ganswein

Archbishop Ganswein, Credit: Vatican News

Source: Archbishop Dr Georg Ganswein

Issued 24 January 2022

Archbishop Dr Georg Gänswein, private secretary to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, said today in Rome:

"Since Thursday afternoon, Pope emeritus Benedict XVI has had the report of the Munich law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl, which was presented on the same day, available to him as a PDF file. At present, he is carefully reading the statements set down there, which fill him with shame and pain about the suffering inflicted on the victims.

Even if he tries to read the report quickly, he asks for understanding that the complete review will take some time due to his age and health, but also due to the large volume of the report. There will be a statement on the report.

However, he would like to make it clear now that, contrary to what was stated at the hearing, he did attend the Ordinariate meeting on January 15, 1980. The statement to the contrary was therefore objectively incorrect. He would like to emphasise that this was not done out of bad faith, but was the result of an oversight in the editing of his statement. He will explain how this happened in the statement that is still to be issued. He is very sorry for this mistake and asks to be excused. Objectively correct, however, remains the statement, documented by the files, that in this meeting no decision was made about a pastoral assignment of the priest in question. Rather, only the request to provide him with accommodation during his therapeutic treatment in Munich was granted.

Benedict XVI is close to his former archdiocese and home diocese, especially in these days, and is very attached to it in its efforts to clarify the situation. He is especially thinking of the victims who had to experience sexual abuse and indifference."