A 38-year-old German man is suing the heirs of the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising for €350,000 (£299,409) in a civil court in Traunstein, Bavaria.
The plaintiff claims he was abused by Fr Peter Hullermann, a former priest of the parish of Garching an der Alz in the Archdiocese of Munich.
He wants €300,000 compensation from the archdiocese and €50,000 from Benedict’s heirs.
Joseph Ratzinger – later to become Pope Benedict XVI – was Archbishop of Munich 1977-1982.
During his tenure, the archdiocese was asked by the Diocese of Essen in north-western Germany to allow a priest who had abused minors to receive psychiatric treatment in Munich.
Details of the Hullermann case were revealed at the beginning of January 2022 in the Munich archdiocese’s report on clerical sexual abuse. Benedict was accused of hushing up the Hullerman case.
In an 82-page initial statement on the report, Benedict denied that he had taken part in a meeting in January 1980 when he was Archbishop of Munich, at which diocesan officials discussed whether or not to allow Hullermann to receive treatment in Munich.
The Diocese of Essen had specifically informed Munich that Hullerman had abused minors. It was nevertheless decided to allow Hullermann to move to the archdiocese.
Four days after he published his statement, Benedict admitted that he had been present at the meeting and apologised for what he said was an “editing error”.
In a letter to the Munich faithful at the beginning of February 2022, Benedict apologised for all the clerical sexual abuse cases that had taken place.
“I can only express to all victims of sexual abuse my profound shame, my deep sorrow and my heartfelt request for forgiveness,” he said.
Within two months of the January 1980 meeting, and despite the Diocese of Essen’s warnings, Hullermann was again allowed to work with minors in a Munich parish.
In 1986 he was fined 4,000 Deutsch Mark and placed on probation for five years for abusing minors. But by that time Ratzinger had left Munich for Rome to become prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
In the present civil claim, filed at the Traunstein regional court, the plaintiff alleges that Ratzinger was aware of Hullermann’s abuse record and accepted the fact the he was a repeat offender.
Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the private secretary to the late Pope Emeritus, is the executor of his will.
He has written to the five cousins who are the material heirs to ask them if they accept the inheritance. One female cousin to date has said that she wishes to forego her share.
German dioceses normally regulate compensation payments for abuse victims on their own responsibility. The sums paid are usually at most €50,000.