“Church has destroyed files on sexual abuse”

The Church has destroyed files about the perpetrators of sexual abuse in its ranks. This is what the German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, a close advisor to Pope Francis, admitted today at the summit about sexual abuse in the Church in the Vatican.

“Files that could have foreseen these horrendous acts of evidence and given the names of those responsible, were destroyed or not even opened,” said the president of the German bishops’ conference.

Abuse of power

Marx tried to convince his fellow bishops in his speech that the cover-ups are the real dangers for the Church. It must become more transparent in the fight against the abuse of children, he argued. “The sexual abuse of children and young people is due in no small part to the misuse of power by the administration,” he said.

The Church is confronted worldwide by scandals surrounding the abuse of children and is accused of having covered the scope of the abuse. Pope Francis proposed during the conference a 21-point plan to combat sexual abuse. He also attended Marx’s speech.