German Catholics to investigate abuse charges - Choir

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100310/ap_on_re_eu/eu_germany_church_abuse


Catholic authorities in Germany announced two major abuse investigations Wednesday — one into the renowned choir once led by Pope Benedict XVI's brother and another into what everyone, including the pope, knew about the sexual and physical abuse of students.

The Roman Catholic diocese of Regensburg in southern Germany said it appointed an independent investigator to examine the allegations of physical and sexual abuse that have engulfed the prestigious Regensburger Domspatzen boys choir, which was led by the Rev. Georg Ratzinger, the pope's older brother, from 1964 until 1994. So far, the sexual abuse allegations predate Ratzinger's term.

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That investigation will also examine allegations of sexual abuse at the choir and look into what, if anything, Pope Benedict XVI himself knew in his previous position as the archbishop of Munich, prelate Karl Juesten told The Associated Press.

"We do not know if the pope knew about the abuse cases at the time," Juesten said. "However, we assume that this is not the case."

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Juesten, the liaison between Roman Catholic bishops and the German government, also praised Ratzinger, the pope's brother, for apologizing to victims on Tuesday for doing nothing decades ago to stop the beating of students.

Ratzinger says students told him of allegations of physical abuse at an elementary school in Germany decades ago and apologized for doing nothing about it.

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The German government has also announced plans for "round table" meetings involving school, church and other representatives to work on ways of detecting, preventing and dealing with future abuse. The first meeting is set for April 23.
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he's sorry

right, he is a sorry creep of a man

glad to see the German going to deal with 'future abuse'.