Catholic Church officials assigned full responsibility for the reassignment of a known pedophilic priest to retired vicar general Gerhard Gruber who served as deputy to Joseph Ratzinger when he was archbishop. Gruber is now challenging a Church statement that he "acted on his own authority," a claim he says was never discussed with him.
....
Gruber's friends say that the old man was only familiar with parts of the statement, that he was apparently being used as a scapegoat and that he was also under additional emotional pressure. To everyone's surprise, Gruber wrote an open letter in which he qualified the archdiocese's statement, writing that he did not sign any documents over which he had no influence. He also noted that he was "very upset" about the "manner in which the incidents were portrayed" by the archdiocese. "And the phrase 'acted on his own authority' also wasn't discussed with me," he wrote.
The archdiocese was unwilling to comment on the accusations, except to state it continued to believe that the former vicar general had acted on his own authority in the case of Peter H., and that he had admitted to having made mistakes. Gruber has gone on a trip to recuperate from "weeks that have been very stressful for me." His loyalty is greatly appreciated in Munich. Archbishop Reinhard Marx, Gruber writes, has sent him his best wishes and "expressed his appreciation for my 'participation'."
I report on the Guardian's report on Der Spiegel's report, and you decide.
You might also consider that Gruber has actually denied the Spiegel story:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sueddeutsche.de/25438M/3318119/Ex-Generalvikar-wehrt-sich.html
The archdiocese also denies the story:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.oecumene.radiovaticana.org/ted/Articolo.asp?c=373233
Michael, I presume that you have decided that the information in the article is now true.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, both your links are in German, and I don't read the language. If you can find a reliable source in English, I'll add an update. I would not expect Vatican Radio to agree that the article is true. Would you?
Well, here's my effort at translating the Sueddeutsche Zeitung piece: (Google translate + German dictionary + one year college German, so I don't promise complete accuracy):
ReplyDeleteEx-vicar general defends himself
Munich - The former vicar general of the archdiocese of Munich, Gerhard Gruber, has contradicted the Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that he had been pressed by the archdiocese to take on himself the responsibility for the employment of the pedophile priest H. in order to take the current Pope Benedict XVI out of the firing line. It was actually his decision to employ H. in the year 1980 in a parish; he had met together with the since deceased Friedrich Fahr, the Personnel Officer, but had not spoken with Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger. The source of the reports is apparently a newsletter (Rundbrief, circular – I think this means a letter sent around among friends), sent by two of Gruber’s friends. Gruber said he had spoken with a friend on the telephone, who then, “with good intentions but unfortunately,” circulated the contents of the conversation. The letter contained “inaccuracies and serious misreporting.” He had made it clear to the friend that he was under time pressure. But he was not presented with a prepackaged document for his signature, nor had he been summoned to the Archdiocesan offices (= Erzbischöfliche Ordinariat, I think).
Michael, thank you. Süddeutschen Zeitung is a reliable source. I searched around for an English version of of the statement, but I found none. If you find an English language version, please let me know and I will post an update with a link.
ReplyDeleteIt is unlikely that if the allegations about Gruber taking the rap for the Pope were true that he would at this point in time say so. He would deny it, unless there was proof, which there isn't.
ReplyDeleteIn my comment way up there, I meant to say, "Michael, I presume that you have decided that the information in the article is NOT true."
ReplyDeleteCathy, we'll probably never know for sure. Then again, we may. Stranger things have happened.