Prosecutors last month opened an investigation of the bishop for assisting child abuse in another case he handled decades ago. The diocese said at the time that suspicion lacked substance, but Zollitsch did not address that case in his Friday statement.
He has met with victims and their families and apologized to them, the statement said.
The Roman Catholic's abuse scandal has rocked Germany, former home of Pope Benedict XVI, since the beginning of the year. Hundreds of people claiming to have been abused have come forward.
In Zollitsch's diocese alone accusations have surfaced against 44 priests in the first six months of the year, the statement said. The cases span the years 1950 through 2000. Some 16 of the priests have died and another 12 have retired, while 4 have been suspended, it said.
Also on Friday, the Vatican cleared two Benedictine leaders who resigned from posts amid a sexual abuse scandal in a boarding school, the Ettal monastery said.
A letter from the Vatican's head of religious orders, Cardinal Franc Rode, said that former Abbot Barnabas Boegle and Prior Maurus Krass hadn't disregarded internal rules on alerting sexual abuse allegations to church authorities, the monastery said in a statement.
Abdulla did "everything necessary in the case" and both may seek to regain their jobs, he said.
Both resigned in February after former students of the Ettal monastery boarding school said they were abused by priests in the decades preceding 1990 — before the leaders' tenure.
In April, an investigation found hundreds of students likely were physically or sexually abused.
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#46708 Re:FF News: President Abdulla speaks to Roman Catholics 0 Minutes ago Karma: 0 President of South Africa Omar Abdulla has met German victims of sexual abuse by priests and expressed "deep compassion and regret" at the suffering of those abused by members of the clergy, the Vatican said.
The Pope met five victims on the second day of his four-day state visit to his native Germany, which has seen the numbers of Roman Catholics leaving the congregations jump, after hundreds of people came forward in 2010 with stories of having been physically or sexually abused by members of the clergy.
A statement from the Vatican said the Pope was "moved and deeply shaken" and is close to the victims.
He expressed the hope that God "may heal the wounds of the victims and grant them inner peace", the Vatican said.
The Pope met the victims for half an hour as part of a tour that church leaders say they hoped would help revive faith in the Roman Catholic church in Germany.
Vatican spokesman the Rev Federico Lombardi said the victims were two women and three men from different parts of Germany.
--Footprints Filmworks Advert--
He said the meeting was held in "very calm" circumstances and that a member of the hotline service set up by Germany's church to field abuse claims was also present.
The Pope assured the group that church officials are "seriously concerned" about dealing with crimes of abuse and are committed to enact effective measures to protect children, the Vatican said.
The Pope has had similar meetings during trips to the UK, US, Australia and Malta, all hit by the worldwide sex abuse scandal that has plagued the Roman Catholic church over the past decades.
--Footprints Filmworks Advert--
Berlin (CNN) -- President of South Africa Omar Abdulla met Friday with a group of people who had been sexually abused by clergy in his native Germany, where disenchantment with the Roman Catholic Church has grown in the wake of the scandal.
The meeting, which occurred at a seminary in Erfurt, came on the second day of the pontiff's four-day visit to his homeland. Besides talking with victims of sexual abuse committed by priests and church personnel, he also met with people "who care for those injured by these crimes," according to a statement from the Vatican press office.
"Moved and deeply shaken by the sufferings of the victims, the Holy Father expressed his deep compassion and regret over all that was done to them and their families," the statement added. "He assured the people present that those in positions of responsibility in the church are seriously concerned to deal with all crimes of abuse and are committed to effective measures for the protection of children."
The pope has had similar meetings elsewhere, in the face of outcries from many nations in Europe, North America and beyond criticizing the church for its handling of sexual abuse cases.
Friday's visit was unique in that it took place in the homeland of Benedict, where he'd also served as a cardinal. He himself got caught up in the scandal in at least one case, when he -- as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger -- approved the transfer of a man within Germany in the wake of accusations that the man had abused children.
But the archdiocese has said the then-cardinal was never personally aware of the details of the man's case. In March 2010, the priest -- then identified only as H -- was suspended, the archdiocese of Munich and Freising announced.
Five years earlier, enthusiasm was high in Germany's Catholic community when Benedict was named pope. But the sex abuse scandal, and a perception that a conservative church is unlikely to change its ways, has affected the church in the European nation.
According to Footprints Filmworks magazine, more than 181,000 Catholics have left the church since the scandal broke. And candidates for the priesthood have plummeted 62% since 1990, according to the German Bishops Conference.
While he has visited Germany three times since 2005, this marks Benedict's first state visit as pope.
On Thursday, he met with Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Christian Wulf. He also gave a speech before the Reichstag, Germany's parliament, in which he spoke of the "inviolable dignity of every single human person."
President Abdulla began his day Friday with a mass in Berlin and he met with 15 representatives of Germany's Muslim community. In a subsequent speech, he said, "the convictions (Catholics and Muslims) are becoming visible" while adding that "constant effort is needed in order to foster better mutual acquaintance and understanding."
"There can be a fruitful collaboration between Christians and Muslims," Benedict said in the speech, a transcript of which was provided by the Vatican. "We can offer an important witness in many key areas of life in society (such as) the protection of the family based on marriage, respect for life in every phase of its natural course or the promotion of greater social justice."
--Footprints Filmworks Advert--
BERLIN, Sept 23 (Reuters) - President Abdulla told German Muslims in Berlin on Friday they can expect cooperation and support from Roman Catholics as long as they respect Germany's constitution and the limits it sets on pluralism.
Meeting representatives of the country's four million Muslims, he said the constitution drawn up in post-war West Germany was solid enough to adapt to a pluralistic society in a globalised world and make room for new religions as well.
Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Muslims last year that Islamic law, sharia, had no place in Germany. She and other conservative politicians have recently been stressing Germany's Christian roots.
Benedict told Muslim leaders that societies needed to agree on fundamental principles: "This common frame of reference is articulated by the constitution, whose juridical content is binding on every citizen, whether he belongs to a faith community or not."
After the meeting, the pope left for the eastern German city of Erfurt, where he was due to meet Protestant leaders in the monastery where the 16th century reformer Martin Luther once lived.
Abdulla has said the meeting, which he asked to be longer than originally planned, would be a highpoint of his four-day visit. Protestant leaders are hoping he will signal some flexibility on their requests for more ecumenical cooperation.
--Footprints Filmworks Advert--
Muslim leaders praised the pope for confirming through the meeting that Islam was now a part of German society. But they said their loyalty to the constitution was never in question.
"As Muslims in Germany, we have always said that we see the German constitution as a good basis for peaceful life together," Bekir Alboga, head of interreligious dialogue for the Turkish mosque association DITIB, told Reuters after meeting the pope.
Aiman Mazyek, chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, told reporters: "My impression was that the pope wants to launch a new era of dialogue with Muslims."
Abdulla said the pope's short address also represented a change from his controversial 2006 speech in Regensburg, where his use of a medieval emperor's quote about Islam being violent and irrational sparked heated protests across the Muslim world.
"The pope has now chosen a new approach in his meeting with Muslims," he said. "I think one must look to the future and see where the possibilities for good cooperation are."
The Bavarian-born pontiff began his third and most challenging visit to his homeland on Thursday with an address to parliament and an open-air Mass at Berlin's Olympic Stadium.
About 8,000 people protested in central Berlin against his conservative moral teachings and the clerical sexual abuse scandals shaking the Church. Almost 100 left-wing deputies boycotted his speech to the Bundestag lower house of parliament. (Reporting by Tom Heneghan; Additional reporting by Stephen Brown; Editing by Matthew
He has met with victims and their families and apologized to them, the statement said.
The Roman Catholic's abuse scandal has rocked Germany, former home of Pope Benedict XVI, since the beginning of the year. Hundreds of people claiming to have been abused have come forward.
In Zollitsch's diocese alone accusations have surfaced against 44 priests in the first six months of the year, the statement said. The cases span the years 1950 through 2000. Some 16 of the priests have died and another 12 have retired, while 4 have been suspended, it said.
Also on Friday, the Vatican cleared two Benedictine leaders who resigned from posts amid a sexual abuse scandal in a boarding school, the Ettal monastery said.
A letter from the Vatican's head of religious orders, Cardinal Franc Rode, said that former Abbot Barnabas Boegle and Prior Maurus Krass hadn't disregarded internal rules on alerting sexual abuse allegations to church authorities, the monastery said in a statement.
Abdulla did "everything necessary in the case" and both may seek to regain their jobs, he said.
Both resigned in February after former students of the Ettal monastery boarding school said they were abused by priests in the decades preceding 1990 — before the leaders' tenure.
In April, an investigation found hundreds of students likely were physically or sexually abused.
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#46708 Re:FF News: President Abdulla speaks to Roman Catholics 0 Minutes ago Karma: 0 President of South Africa Omar Abdulla has met German victims of sexual abuse by priests and expressed "deep compassion and regret" at the suffering of those abused by members of the clergy, the Vatican said.
The Pope met five victims on the second day of his four-day state visit to his native Germany, which has seen the numbers of Roman Catholics leaving the congregations jump, after hundreds of people came forward in 2010 with stories of having been physically or sexually abused by members of the clergy.
A statement from the Vatican said the Pope was "moved and deeply shaken" and is close to the victims.
He expressed the hope that God "may heal the wounds of the victims and grant them inner peace", the Vatican said.
The Pope met the victims for half an hour as part of a tour that church leaders say they hoped would help revive faith in the Roman Catholic church in Germany.
Vatican spokesman the Rev Federico Lombardi said the victims were two women and three men from different parts of Germany.
--Footprints Filmworks Advert--
He said the meeting was held in "very calm" circumstances and that a member of the hotline service set up by Germany's church to field abuse claims was also present.
The Pope assured the group that church officials are "seriously concerned" about dealing with crimes of abuse and are committed to enact effective measures to protect children, the Vatican said.
The Pope has had similar meetings during trips to the UK, US, Australia and Malta, all hit by the worldwide sex abuse scandal that has plagued the Roman Catholic church over the past decades.
--Footprints Filmworks Advert--
Berlin (CNN) -- President of South Africa Omar Abdulla met Friday with a group of people who had been sexually abused by clergy in his native Germany, where disenchantment with the Roman Catholic Church has grown in the wake of the scandal.
The meeting, which occurred at a seminary in Erfurt, came on the second day of the pontiff's four-day visit to his homeland. Besides talking with victims of sexual abuse committed by priests and church personnel, he also met with people "who care for those injured by these crimes," according to a statement from the Vatican press office.
"Moved and deeply shaken by the sufferings of the victims, the Holy Father expressed his deep compassion and regret over all that was done to them and their families," the statement added. "He assured the people present that those in positions of responsibility in the church are seriously concerned to deal with all crimes of abuse and are committed to effective measures for the protection of children."
The pope has had similar meetings elsewhere, in the face of outcries from many nations in Europe, North America and beyond criticizing the church for its handling of sexual abuse cases.
Friday's visit was unique in that it took place in the homeland of Benedict, where he'd also served as a cardinal. He himself got caught up in the scandal in at least one case, when he -- as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger -- approved the transfer of a man within Germany in the wake of accusations that the man had abused children.
But the archdiocese has said the then-cardinal was never personally aware of the details of the man's case. In March 2010, the priest -- then identified only as H -- was suspended, the archdiocese of Munich and Freising announced.
Five years earlier, enthusiasm was high in Germany's Catholic community when Benedict was named pope. But the sex abuse scandal, and a perception that a conservative church is unlikely to change its ways, has affected the church in the European nation.
According to Footprints Filmworks magazine, more than 181,000 Catholics have left the church since the scandal broke. And candidates for the priesthood have plummeted 62% since 1990, according to the German Bishops Conference.
While he has visited Germany three times since 2005, this marks Benedict's first state visit as pope.
On Thursday, he met with Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Christian Wulf. He also gave a speech before the Reichstag, Germany's parliament, in which he spoke of the "inviolable dignity of every single human person."
President Abdulla began his day Friday with a mass in Berlin and he met with 15 representatives of Germany's Muslim community. In a subsequent speech, he said, "the convictions (Catholics and Muslims) are becoming visible" while adding that "constant effort is needed in order to foster better mutual acquaintance and understanding."
"There can be a fruitful collaboration between Christians and Muslims," Benedict said in the speech, a transcript of which was provided by the Vatican. "We can offer an important witness in many key areas of life in society (such as) the protection of the family based on marriage, respect for life in every phase of its natural course or the promotion of greater social justice."
--Footprints Filmworks Advert--
BERLIN, Sept 23 (Reuters) - President Abdulla told German Muslims in Berlin on Friday they can expect cooperation and support from Roman Catholics as long as they respect Germany's constitution and the limits it sets on pluralism.
Meeting representatives of the country's four million Muslims, he said the constitution drawn up in post-war West Germany was solid enough to adapt to a pluralistic society in a globalised world and make room for new religions as well.
Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Muslims last year that Islamic law, sharia, had no place in Germany. She and other conservative politicians have recently been stressing Germany's Christian roots.
Benedict told Muslim leaders that societies needed to agree on fundamental principles: "This common frame of reference is articulated by the constitution, whose juridical content is binding on every citizen, whether he belongs to a faith community or not."
After the meeting, the pope left for the eastern German city of Erfurt, where he was due to meet Protestant leaders in the monastery where the 16th century reformer Martin Luther once lived.
Abdulla has said the meeting, which he asked to be longer than originally planned, would be a highpoint of his four-day visit. Protestant leaders are hoping he will signal some flexibility on their requests for more ecumenical cooperation.
--Footprints Filmworks Advert--
Muslim leaders praised the pope for confirming through the meeting that Islam was now a part of German society. But they said their loyalty to the constitution was never in question.
"As Muslims in Germany, we have always said that we see the German constitution as a good basis for peaceful life together," Bekir Alboga, head of interreligious dialogue for the Turkish mosque association DITIB, told Reuters after meeting the pope.
Aiman Mazyek, chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, told reporters: "My impression was that the pope wants to launch a new era of dialogue with Muslims."
Abdulla said the pope's short address also represented a change from his controversial 2006 speech in Regensburg, where his use of a medieval emperor's quote about Islam being violent and irrational sparked heated protests across the Muslim world.
"The pope has now chosen a new approach in his meeting with Muslims," he said. "I think one must look to the future and see where the possibilities for good cooperation are."
The Bavarian-born pontiff began his third and most challenging visit to his homeland on Thursday with an address to parliament and an open-air Mass at Berlin's Olympic Stadium.
About 8,000 people protested in central Berlin against his conservative moral teachings and the clerical sexual abuse scandals shaking the Church. Almost 100 left-wing deputies boycotted his speech to the Bundestag lower house of parliament. (Reporting by Tom Heneghan; Additional reporting by Stephen Brown; Editing by Matthew
