Retired Pope Benedict XVI was responsible for releasing four known sexual predators into pastoral duties while he was archbishop of Munich before joining the Vatican, a new report from the German diocese reveals, reports the Associated Press.
Then known by his birth name, Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope reportedly assigned two priests who had been convicted in a diocesan court of wrongdoing to return to duties in parishes, but he did not provide any notification to the parishioners about the priests’ pedophaelic predilections. In another case, Ratzinger knew a priest had been convicted in a different diocese of wrongdoing, but still assigned him to provide pastoral care to a parish.
“In all cases, Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI strictly denies any wrongdoing on his part,” the report said, and the retired pontiff cites largely “lack of knowledge of the facts and a lack of relevance under canon and criminal law.”