Bamberg (dpa / lby) - Archbishop Ludwig Schick, who has resigned from Bamberg, has confirmed that he has not hesitated to react to cases of abuse in the Catholic Church. He never "consciously covered up, delayed or concealed anything," he told the "Fränkischer Tag" (Wednesday). Schick left office on November 1 - Pope Francis had accepted his resignation.
Most recently, the Advisory Board for Victims of Sexual, Violent and Spiritual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Bamberg made a critical statement: During Schick's tenure, many cases of abuse became known. "The former archbishop has no direct legal responsibility for the acts that were committed. However, he did have a very great responsibility for how the perpetrators and the victims of abuse were dealt with during his tenure."
From the point of view of the advisory board, mistakes were made here, it said in a statement. Information was only disclosed "in bits and pieces" and perpetrators were often treated leniently.
The advisory board criticized the fact that the mayor of Bamberg, Andreas Starke (SPD), had proposed Schick as the city's new honorary citizen. It is important to wait for a report on the abuse complex in the archdiocese before considering such an honor.
In the interview, Schick denied that he had resigned out of resignation over the stagnant reform process: "These things take time and patience. If you are bishop emeritus now, you can move things even further. That is not shelved. I remain in the Church and will continue to be involved." Schick had repeatedly spoken out in favor of reforms - for example, more participation by believers in personnel decisions.
"It is an important question that women really participate in the church on an equal footing," said the 73-year-old. "And it's also true that sexuality is talked about differently than it was 40 or 50 years ago. We've become a bit more open, but there's still a lot that needs to be done here." The archdiocese says goodbye to Schick after 20 years as archbishop next Sunday (December 11) at a service in the cathedral.
