German archbishop returns national honor, citing failure to curb abuse
April 21, 2023
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CWN Editor's Note: Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, the retired head of the Freiburg archdiocese, has returned the Order of Merit, an honor given to him by the German government in 2014, after acknowledging his failure to curb sexual abuse.
Last October, following an inquiry into the handling of abuse complaints in Freiburg, Archbishop Zollitsch issued an apology for his negligence. The inquiry had reported that Zollitsch, who led the archdiocese from 2003 to 2013, “simply ignored Church law that provided for intervention and reporting of cases.”
Archbishop Zollitsch, who is now 84, had also been president of the German bishops’ conference freom 2008 to 2014.
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