Cardinal Marx writes to the Pope and resigns: “Church at a standstill”

German Cardinal Reinhard Marx offered his resignation to Pope Francis, stating that the Catholic Church is “at a standstill” following the “catastrophe of sexual abuse”. “In essence, for me it is a question of sharing responsibility for the catastrophe of sexual abuse by Church leaders in recent decades”, wrote the cardinal in a letter to the Pope. Marx also said that the inquiries and reports of the experts the last 10 years have consistently shown that there have been “many personal and administrative errors” but also “systemic and institutional errors”. Cardinal Marx offered his resignation as archbishop of Munich and Freising, a position to which he was appointed in 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI, in a letter dated May 21. According to what the archdiocese made known today, the cardinal, who will turn 68 in September, asked the Pope to “accept his resignation” and to “decide” on his future. In the letter, the cardinal states that the Catholic Church has reached “a dead end” and that his resignation from office could serve as a signal to give a new beginning, a new impulse. “I want to show that it is not the task that is in the foreground, but the evangelical mission”, he wrote again. “I am willing to take personal responsibility not only for my mistakes, but for those of the institution of the church that I have helped shape and train over decades”, concludes the prelate who was president of the German bishops’ conference until 2020. .