German Justice assumes that Ratzinger was "complicit" in sexual abuse of minors (translated)

Translation from Spanish:

The Court of Traunstein understands that the late Benedict XVI knew about the background and behavior of the priest Peter H. and that his victim is entitled to damages: "The only question that remains to be resolved is the amount of the claim".

Benedict XVI was "complicit" in a case of child abuse during his time as archbishop of Munich. This is the conviction of the president of the court of Traunstein, Elisabeth Nitzinger-Spann, who from Tuesday is judging the lawsuit of Andreas Perr, victim of abuse by the priest Peter H. and who claims 300,000 euros in damages from his abuser and the archdiocese of Munich, and another 50,000 euros from the heirs of the Pope emeritus.

For the judge, who has decided to separate the two lawsuits (diocese and Ratzinger) until it is determined who are the heirs of the Pope emeritus who died last December 31, and whether or not they accept the inheritance (as well as a possible subsidiary liability for such allegations), Ratzigner had "the corresponding knowledge of the priest's previous life," as noted in a preliminary legal opinion.

However, since an heiress of Joseph Ratzinger refused to accept the inheritance and the other four cousins had given no sign, the lawsuit originally directed against him is separated from the process, as announced by the court on Monday and reported by Katholisch. So far, only a cousin of the Pope emeritus has appeared, rejecting the inheritance, while the secretary of Benedict XVI, Georg Gänswein, already from Freiburg (on July 1 he will leave the Vatican, by express order of Francis), continues to search for the other four relatives, for the moment without success.

As will be recalled, in 1980, while Joseph Ratzinger was Archbishop of Munich, he participated in a meeting in which it was decided to accept in the diocese a priest, Peter H., transferred from North Rhine-Westphalia on suspicion of abuse. Ratzinger's participation in this meeting came to the attention of the press when the abuse report was presented in Munich in 2022. At first, the Pope emeritus denied having attended the meeting, although he later spoke of a mistake and admitted having been there.

In any case, the court makes it clear that Ratzinger knew perfectly well of these accusations and, nevertheless, the religious "was welcomed without further restrictions and precautions", being assigned to the pastoral care of children and young people.

This decision, in the opinion of the Traunstein Court, would give rise both to a lawsuit against Ratzinger and against the Munich diocese, which has already advanced that it will pay the damages caused by the abuse. The presiding judge added that it is clear that the plaintiff is entitled to damages. "The only question that remains to be resolved is the amount of the claim," she stressed.