German bishop may ask Pope to rescind resignation
June 16, 2010
Retired Bishop Walter Mixa of Augsburg, whose resignation was accepted on May 8 amid allegations of child abuse and financial improprieties, has told a German newspaper that he may ask Pope Benedict in a July audience to rescind his resignation, which he says was forced under pressure akin to “the fires of Purgatory.”
Criticizing Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg, Archbishop Reinhard Marx of Munich, and Augsburg Auxiliary Bishop Anton Losinger for calling for his resignation, Bishop Mixa also revealed that three days after he signed a pre-written resignation letter, he sent Pope Benedict a letter revoking his resignation. The bishop attributed the opposition he faced to his conservatism and added that the physical abuse of children that he admitted was corporal punishment that was legal in the 1970s.
To the consternation of many local Catholics, Bishop Mixa, saying he has nowhere else to stay, has begun to live again in the bishop’s residence.
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Further information:
- Walter Mixa – "Der Druck war wie ein Fegefeuer" (Die Welt)
- Mixa wants his case reviewed by Vatican (The Local)
- German government drops sex-abuse investigation of bishop who resigned (CWN, 5/14)
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