TRIER (GERMANY)
The Tablet [Market Harborough, England]
November 7, 2025
By Natalie K. Watson
An abuse report said Cardinal Reinhard failed to give sufficient attention to the care of victims when he was Bishop of Trier.
Cardinal Marx said that ‘during my time as Bishop of Trier, I did not perceive the issue of sexualised violence and sexual abuse as comprehensively and clearly as would have been appropriate’.
Reports on sexual abuse published last week in two German dioceses found that the Church in Germany does many things right though by no means all.
Academics of the University of Trier identified 734 victims of sexual violence in the Diocese of Trier and 246 perpetrators during the last eight decades.
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, now Archbishop of Munich and Freising, was Bishop of Trier from 2002 to 2008 Bishop of Trier. The report said he failed to give sufficient attention to the care of victims.
In a written response Marx said: “I was very happy to be Bishop of Trier. It pains me all the more to realise that I did not do justice to all the people entrusted to my episcopal care in this role.”
Marx said that with what he knew now he would do some things differently. In encounters with victims and survivors he had become increasingly aware that “during my time as Bishop of Trier, I did not perceive the issue of sexualised violence and sexual abuse as comprehensively and clearly as would have been appropriate”.
According to the guidance from the German bishops’ conference at the time, perpetrators should be moved to refer themselves to the authorities. “With hindsight it is clear that this was not an appropriate way to act,” Marx said.
The report identified 24 victims between the appointment of Marx’s successor, the current Bishop of Trier Stefan Ackermann, and 2021.
“I can only ask for forgiveness for the new injuries I myself and my colleagues have inflicted on victims of sexualised violence in our diocese through our action or inaction,” Ackermann said, promising that a process of learning had taken place.
“The past 15 years have taught us to see the destructive dynamics of abuse,” he said, offering his respect to those affected by abuse for their willingness to report the crimes perpetrated by the priests and staff of the diocese, despite fears about whether they would be believed or if their report would remain without consequences.
A study in the Diocese of Augsburg praised its leadership as exemplary in safeguarding practices.
It noted this was not always the case and recommended to strengthen prevention of abuse. Clergy should be sensitised about abuse as part of their training and new cases should be made public in accordance with data protection, the study said.
The Bishop of Augsburg Johannes Meier said nothing could take away the suffering of the victims and abuse must remian constant topic for the diocese: “We cannot rest on our laurels.”