Norwegian bishop who retired
in 2009 was an abuser
OSLO, April 7 (Reuters) – The Norwegian Catholic Church and the Vatican acknowledged on Wednesday that a bishop who resigned last year did so after it was discovered that he had sexually abused an altar boy two decades earlier.
The Vatican issued a statement confirming a post on the Web site of Norway's Church about the circumstances behind the resignation last June of Bishop Georg Mueller of Trondheim.
The abuse took place some 20 years ago when Mueller was a priest there.
The case is the latest allegation of child abuse faced by the Catholic Church, following accusations made in Ireland, the U.S., Germany and other countries.
Mueller's is one of the few cases in Europe where a bishop resigned over committing sexual abuse in his past.
Archbishop Juliusz Paetz of Poznan, Poland, resigned in 2002 and in 1995 Cardinal Hans Hermann of Vienna stepped down in 1995, both over allegations of sexually abusing seminarians.
In June 2009, the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict had accepted Mueller's resignation but it did not specify why. [It did, as the next sentence shows!]
As is its custom, the Vatican at the time cited only Canon (Church) law 401/2, which states that a bishop should offer his resignation to the Pope in cases where he has become "
unsuited for the fulfillment of his office."
[Any newsman covering the Vatican should know by now that the official announcements never spell out reasons for retirements or resignations, only the provision of canon law applicable to the individual case - which with the Internet, anyone can look up directly. And if you are a newsman or a parishioner who wants to know exactly how Canon Law Prov. 401/Section 2 applied to the resigning/retiring bishop, then you can ask the Congregation for Bishops or the CDF if you are a Vatican reporter, or the local Church authorities, if you are a local reportere or parishioner. It's not as if the Vatican had done this for the first time expressly to hide the reason for the bishop's resignation/retirement.
This entire story is obviously once again about trying to show that the Vatican, and the Church, and therefore, the Pope, continue to 'cover up' cases of sex abuses by priests.]
The Church in Norway and the Vatican acknowledged the details of the case only after they were reported on Wednesday by the Norwegian daily Adresseavisen.
Mueller, who was born in Germany, was bishop of Trondeim from 1997 to 2009.
The Vatican said Church authorities found out about the abuse in January 2009. Mueller offered his resignation in May of that year and "the Pope quickly accepted it."
The bishop later underwent therapy and is no longer involved in pastoral activity, the Vatican said.
The victim in now in his 30s and has chosen to remain anonymous. The case happened too long ago to lead to a criminal prosecution under Norwegian law.
If 1) a priest or bishop has admitted his culpability, or if an investigation has proven it, and
2) the offender is punished appropriately under canon law and removed from any pastoral responsibilities, and
3) the victim refuses to prosecute for practical reasons,
the Church is under no obligation at all to advertise the case.(What it must do in reparation to the victim is a private matter between them, but it must be done).
But neither does it stop anyone from investigating it. Why should it be blamed for the failure of reporters in Norway to see anything strange about Bishop Mueller's resignation last year and therefore to look into his case if they wanted to (even if it meant subjecting the victim to fresh trauma)????
STATEMENT BY FR. LOMBARDI
Translated from
April 7, 2010
In response to newsmen's questions regarding the case of the ex-bishop of Trondheim (Norway), Mons. Georg Müller, SS.CC., the director of the Vatican Press office has made the following statement:
I confirm the information given in the commique of the Apostolic Administrator for Trondheim (Norway), Mons. Bernd Eidsvig, about the ex-Bishop Prelate of Trondheim, Mons. Georg Müller, SS.CC., who was bishop of the Prelature from 1997 to 2009.
It concerns sexual abuse of a minor that took place in the early 1990s and was brought to the attention of ecclesiastical authorities in January 2009.
The question was attended to and examined promptly by the Nunciature in Stockholm on orders of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
In May 2009, the bishop presented his resignation, which was promptly accepted by the Holy Father. In June, Mueller left the Prelature. he underwent a course of therapy and no longer carries out any pastoral activity.
From the point of civil law, the case had passed the statute of limitations. So far, the victim, now an adult, has asked to remain anonymous.
I tried to 'see' the statement physically on the site of the Church of Norway, but it is all in Norwegian, and the many attempts I tried to open the right page on the statement have failed. However, the Italian agency SIR provides some excerpts in Italian translation which I am translating to English:
Excerpts from the Bishop of Norway's
statement about ex-Bishop Mueller
Translated from
"On April 6, 2010, Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, gave me the difficult task to announce that around the end of January 2009, it received an accusation against Bishop Georg Müller of Trondheim regarding sexual abuse of a minor" Thus begins the statement from the Apostolic Administrator of the Prelature of Trondheim-Oslo in Norway.
Mons Bernst Eidvig goes on to explain that the CDF asked the Nunciature in Stockholm to investigate the case, and that when Müller was confronted, he admitted his offenses. At that point, he tendered his resignation.
Eidvig underscores that even if under Norwegian law, the statute of limitation for the offenses committed in the early 1990s had logn expired, the provisions of canon law remained applicable.
Mons. Müller was subsequently stripped of all his pastoral functions and has undergone therapy.
Eidvig also points out that
the CDF did not publicize the case at the request of the victim, who has long reached adulthood, and asked that "his desire to remain anonymous be respected".
He said "The Church of Norway was shaken to its foundations" after Müller admitted to the offenses, and that "Personally, it is difficult for me to find the words".
"First of all, I wish to express my solidarity with the victim and I too hope and pray that his request to stay anonymous will be respected", Eidvig said. "Then-bishop Müller acted against every promise and duty that he had undertaken."
"A small bright sign in the midst of the sorrow we all felt was that the Holy See acted immediately and effectively as soon as the case was brought to them."
He noted that the Church has lived through moments of great difficulty in the past. "The difference is that this trial has struck as in our hearts and our weaknesses. The sorrow that afflicts us is terrible and not easy to bear."
To the faithful of Norway, Bishop Eidig appealed: "Pray for me that I may always have the grace to be a good pastor especially in moments so difficult for us."
Some relevant data:
There are less than 60,000 Catholics in Norway today, 70% of them foreign-born. The overwhelming majority (82%) of Norway's 5 million citizens are Lutheran. Next largest group is Islam (93,000), mainly immigrants, who surpassed the Catholics in number in the 1990s.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 07/04/2010 17:27]