• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Then-Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI, is pictured in this file photo May 28, 1977, the day of his ordination as archbishop of Munich and Freising. A German law firm has delayed publication of it study of the handling of sexual abuse in the archdiocese between 1949 and 2019. (CNS photo/KNA)

Citing new info, German law firm delays publication of Munich abuse study

November 5, 2021
By Catholic News Service
Catholic News Service
Filed Under: News, World News

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

MUNICH (CNS) — A report on the handling of sexual abuse cases in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising will not be presented this year as originally expected. The lawyers of the Munich law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl now plan to publish their findings in mid-January, reported the German church news agency KNA.

The lawyers said new information had only recently come to light and now had to be checked rigorously. They declined to reveal the new findings.

The archdiocese also declined to comment, saying it would not receive the report until it is published.

KNA said the report is being followed closely not only in Germany, but also internationally, because the lawyers are investigating the manner in which a large number of high-profile church officials handled sexual abuse cases in the church between 1949 and 2019. The most senior of them is Joseph Ratzinger, retired Pope Benedict XVI, who was archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1977 to 1982.

There have been recurring reports about the case of a priest during that time who was transferred to other parishes despite previous acts of abuse and who abused again after his transfer.

The actions of Cardinals Michael Faulhaber, Joseph Wendel, Julius Döpfner, Friedrich Wetter and most recently Reinhard Marx also are being investigated.

The lawyers said that, “if necessary and as far as legally possible,” they also want to name high-ranking representatives of the archdiocese who “acted erroneously or inappropriately in connection with the handling of sexual abuse cases.”

The Westpfahl Spilker Wastl law firm has already compiled legal reports covering two other German dioceses. While their investigation into the events in the Aachen Diocese was published, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne withdrew the firm’s report shortly ahead of its planned publication.

The reasons he gave were methodological deficiencies and libel issues. Interested parties were not allowed to view the Westpfahl Spilker Wastl study until after the publication of a second expert report by the law firm Gercke Wollschläger.

Westpfahl Spilker Wastl provided a first abuse report for the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising as early as 2010, but it was never published in full for reasons of data protection, KNA reported.

also see

How faith-based higher education can best serve society is focus of symposium

House Republicans advance bill to repeal FACE Act

Pope ‘deeply saddened’ by tragic Air India plane crash

Diversity is cause for strength, not division, pope tells Rome clergy

Pope Leo to return to practice of ‘imposing’ pallium on new archbishops

As chaotic demonstrations erupt across U.S., Catholic experts counsel nonviolence

Copyright © 2021 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Print Print

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Primary Sidebar

Catholic News Service

Click here to view all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • Archbishop Lori announces appointments, including pastor and associate pastor assignments

  • Pope Leo to return to practice of ‘imposing’ pallium on new archbishops

  • Hundreds gather at Rebuilt Conference 2025 to ‘imagine what’s possible’ in parish ministry

  • Indiana Catholic shares story of his life-changing bond with friend who is now Pope Leo

  • Washington Archdiocese announces layoffs, spending cuts, restructuring

| Latest Local News |

Sister Joan Minella, former principal and pastoral life director, dies

Archbishop Lori offers encouragement to charitable agencies affected by federal cuts

Incoming superior general of Oblate Sisters of Providence outlines priorities

Archbishop Lori announces appointments, including pastor and associate pastor assignments

Oblate Sister Trinita Baeza, teacher and pastoral associate in Baltimore, dies at 98

| Latest World News |

How faith-based higher education can best serve society is focus of symposium

House Republicans advance bill to repeal FACE Act

Pope ‘deeply saddened’ by tragic Air India plane crash

Diversity is cause for strength, not division, pope tells Rome clergy

Pope Leo to return to practice of ‘imposing’ pallium on new archbishops

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Sister Joan Minella, former principal and pastoral life director, dies
  • How faith-based higher education can best serve society is focus of symposium
  • House Republicans advance bill to repeal FACE Act
  • Archbishop Lori offers encouragement to charitable agencies affected by federal cuts
  • Incoming superior general of Oblate Sisters of Providence outlines priorities
  • Archbishop Lori announces appointments, including pastor and associate pastor assignments
  • Pope ‘deeply saddened’ by tragic Air India plane crash
  • Television Review: ‘Patience,’ June 15, and streaming, PBS
  • While the U.S. bishops go on retreat this June, business follows them

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

en Englishes Spanish
en en