“sexual abuse scandals and struggling to reform... A total of 522,821 Catholics turned their backs on their Church, according to annual statistics released on June 28 by the German Bishops' Conference. Some 359,338 Catholics dropped out the previous year. ”
“The public prosecutor's office in Munich has officially closed a preliminary investigation into Benedict XVI concerning allegations that he covered up sexual abuse decades ago when he was cardinal-archbishop in the Bavarian capital... due to lack of evidence or the statute of limitations.”
“Victims, however, are getting impatient, as the first revelations date back to 2010. "For ten years, we were not taken seriously," notes Norpoth. "The Church was talking about us, not with us. It's time for things to change," he says.”
“Bishop Wilmer said the times when bishops could treat people condescendingly "from above" in a patronizing way, "let alone consider themselves above the law", are now over. "Nowadays, people trust a used car salesman more than they do a bishop," he said. ”
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More than half a million Germans left the Catholic Church in 2022
German courts drop investigation into Benedict XVI
Clergy sex abuse victims in Germany are growing impatient
Astoundingly candid bishop says Catholic Church is a shattered remains of its former self
