The German Archdiocese of Munich and Freising has reported a significant 6.2% drop in church tax revenue for 2023, due primarily to many parishioners leaving the church. Finance Director Markus Reif announced at the Federal Budget Press Conference in Munich that the archdiocese’s income fell by €41 million to €617 million. The German church tax Read more
Former Pope Benedict XVI plans to defend himself in a civil lawsuit. The lawsuit has been lodged at a German court by a man who accuses him of helping cover up historical abuse. Back in June, a so-called declaratory action was brought on behalf of a man, then 38-years old. The man said he was Read more
A high-ranking official in an important catholic diocese quit his job because of internal opposition to attempts to deal with clergy sex abuse. Msgr Peter Beer, who served from 2010-2020 as vicar general of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, said the horrific details that emerged from a recently published report on sex abuse in Read more
A report on the handling of abuse cases in Germany’s Archdiocese of Munich and Freising is unlikely to be published before January 2022. Westpfahl Spilker Wastl, the law firm compiling the report, announced the delay on Nov. 3, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner. The Munich law firm said that the delay was caused Read more
Pope Francis has written declining German Cardinal Reinhard Marx’s 21 May letter of resignation. In his letter Francis says he agrees with Marx that Catholic leaders cannot adopt an “ostrich policy” in the face of the clerical sexual abuse crisis. “If you are tempted to think that, by confirming your mission and not accepting your Read more