German Catholic official: Pope’s brother’s apology to abuse victims a ‘wonderful sign’
By APWednesday, March 10, 2010
Official: Pope brother’s apology ‘wonderful sign’
BERLIN — A top Catholic prelate in Germany says an apology from the pope’s brother for abuse of students in the 1960s should be seen as a “wonderful sign” that the church plans to get to the bottom of the allegations.
Karl Juesten, the liaison between Catholic bishops and the German government, told ZDF television Wednesday that the Rev. Georg Ratzinger’s apology to the victims was an act of courage.
He says: “It is certainly not easy for such a man to publicly apologize.”
Ratzinger, the older brother of Pope Benedict XVI, says he knew of allegations of physical abuse at an elementary school and apologized for doing nothing about it.
But Ratzinger says he was unaware of allegations of sexual abuse at the Regensburger Domspatzen boys choir before he led it.
