Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is willing to testify in a court in southern Germany in the trial of a priest for child sex abuse, a court spokesperson confirmed to German news agency DPA on Tuesday.
The case concerns a priest suspected of paedophilia, Joseph Ratzinger, who was archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1977 to 1982, his successor Cardinal Friedrich Wetter, and the archdiocese. Ratzinger is accused of child abuse perpetrated against a victim who is now 38 years old.
A report on the priest published in January details years of abuse within the archdiocese. Instead of reporting the priest to the judicial authorities, church officials transferred him to other regions, where he committed further acts.
Because of the statute of limitations, a trial can only establish the priest’s guilt and lead to damages.
