Pope Francis on Thursday rejected an offer by
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, a top German bishop, to resign over the mishandling of
sexual abuse and cover-up scandals.
One of Germany's leading Catholic bishops,
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, said Friday he had offered Pope Francis his
resignation over the church's "institutional and systemic failure" in its
handling of child sex abuse scandals.
Pope Francis has ordered an apostolic visitation of the archdiocese of Cologne, which has been rocked by a damning report on child sex abuse, the diocese said Friday.
An independent study commissioned by the
Roman Catholic Church uncovered hundreds of cases of sexual violence committed
by clergy and laymen in Germany's top diocese, its authors said Thursday.
Pressure increased on Friday on a powerful German Catholic archbishop who has for months blocked the publication of a report about alleged sexual abuse of minors by members of his diocese.
German bishops agreed Thursday that victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church are entitled to payouts of
up to €50,000 each, a figure campaigners insisted was far too low.
Former pope Benedict XVI travelled from the
Vatican to Germany on Thursday to visit his sick brother, officials said, in
his first trip abroad since his shock resignation in 2013.
German bishops have announced higher compensation for victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church but victims say the proposals fall far short of expectations.
Catholic bishops in Germany on Tuesday chose a reformist as their new leader, with a challenging agenda ahead for a Church discussing controversial reforms and compensation demands from sexual abuse victims.
German bishops gather for key talks from Monday where they will choose a new leader to help steer the country's Catholic Church through a controversial reforms process and settle compensation demands from sexual abuse victims.
Germany's under-fire Catholic Church admitted Thursday it must urgently confront its child sex abuse scandal, but victims accused it of continued "stonewalling", especially on compensation.
One of the most senior German figures in the Catholic Church has controversially denied that sexual abuse was a problem in the Catholic Church, saying that the problem was caused by gay men rather than catholic priests.
The German Catholic Church vowed Thursday a thorough look at its practices including the issue of celibacy, in a shakeup of the system following a damning child sex abuse scandal.
Germany's Catholic Church on Tuesday apologized to victims of sexual assault by clergy, with the institution's top cardinal saying perpetrators must be brought to justice.
More than 3,600 children were sexually assaulted by Catholic priests in Germany over nearly seven decades, local media reported Wednesday, citing a study commissioned by the German Bishops Conference.
Pope Francis has dismissed the church's chief of doctrine, Cardinal Gerhard Mueller -- one of the most powerful cardinals at the Vatican -- and appointed a Spanish archbishop to the role, the Vatican said on Saturday.
Alternative for Germany (AfD) leader Frauke Petry took on the Catholic Church on Wednesday, calling bishops "dishonest" for their involvement in refugee politics.
The German Catholic Church called for a reduction in the influx of refugees arriving in Germany, saying the country cannot take in "all the world's needy," according to an interview published on Saturday.
Germany's branch of the Catholic Church will "never" be finished dealing with the fallout from decades of abuse against children by members of the clergy, a bishop said on Tuesday.
A monk and former teacher at a boarding school in the Bavarian alps pleaded not guilty on Thursday at his trial for abusing two pupils and attempted abuse of two more.
A German Catholic priest has asked the Pope to release him from his oath of celibacy and refused calls from superiors to leave the priesthood after he admitted on TV he had an illegitimate daughter.
Germany's Catholic Church on Monday launched a new study into sexual abuse by clergy after a first attempt involving criminologists ended in acrimony last year.
