Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI personally requested forgiveness from abuse survivors in a letter responding to a report that faulted his handling of cases during his tenure as Munich archbishop from 1977 to 1982.
In an almost 1,000-word letter, the 94-year-old retired pope said that his pain was all the greater as he had “borne great responsibility in the Catholic Church”, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.
The letter was accompanied by a three-page rebuttal of the criticisms contained in the Munich abuse report, published last month, signed by four advisers of the pope emeritus.
