Monday, November 29, 1999

Pope accepts Bishop`s resignation over abuse charge

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Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of a German catholic bishop over allegations of physically abusing young children and financial misconduct when he was a priest more than 30 years ago.The Vatican said in a brief statement yesterday that the Pope accepted a request to step down from Bishop Walter Mixa of the Augsburg diocese in the state of Bavaria, under the canonical law allowing retirement of clergymen before reaching the age of 75 because of illness or other grave reasons.He has been relieved of his responsibilities and also as the bishop of the German armed forces, the statement said.For weeks, Bishop Mixa repeatedly denied accusations by several former inmates of a children's home in Bavaria that he had beaten them up when he was a local priest there between 1975 and 1996.However, he unexpectedly sent his resignation letter to the Pope on April 21, shortly after admitting that he "may have given some slaps" to the children .He also apologised for causing grief to many people.So far, Mixa has not been accused of sexually abusing children.But prosecutors in the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt disclosed on Friday that they have opened preliminary investigations into allegations of sexual abuse of a young boy by Bishop Mixa in a children's home under his responsibility.The Bavarian justice ministry in Munich confirmed that prosecutors were conducting a preliminary investigation into the child abuse charges against Mixa who is also under investigation over allegations of financial irregularities in one of the children's homes under his responsibility.He is reported to have used church funds to buy expensive carpets, antiquities and art works.The Augsburg diocese said on Friday that it had provided information to prosecutors about the allegations against the bishop.The President of Germany's Catholic Bishop's Conference Archbishop Robert Zollitsch welcomed the Pope's speedy decision to accept Bishop Mixa's resignation and expressed the hope that it would clear the way for a new beginning for the Augsburg diocese.The events of the past weeks had severely damaged the credibility of the Augsburg diocese and the catholic church in Germany, he said.The pope's speedy decision has created the necessary clarity and gives all those involved "a chance for a new beginning," he said.The catholic church in Germany too has been rocked by a series of sex abuse scandals involving the clergy.

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