Bishop of Limburg and former president of the German Bishops’ Conference, Georg Bätzing, has publicly questioned Pope Leo XIV’s remarks on the origins of sexual abuse in the Church. In a “Standpunkt” published on 3 November on his diocese’s website, Bätzing states that the Pope’s comments during the return flight from France have troubled him and calls for an urgent clarification.
“A human problem,” according to the Pope
The controversy stems from the press conference Leo XIV gave aboard the plane that took him from Metz to Rome on 28 September, which InfoVaticana reported. A journalist asked whether it was true—as victims he had met in Lourdes had told the media—that the Pope had acknowledged the systemic nature of the abuse. According to the Holy See transcript, the Pope replied that several of the seven victims had spoken of systemic abuse, but that he preferred a different formulation.
Leo XIV explained that during his conversation with the victims he had said that certain organizations within the Church had at times acted as abusive systems, and added that sexual abuse is “first and foremost a human problem.” The meeting with the victims was also covered on this website.
Bätzing: “Insufficient” and “highly problematic”
In his text, Bätzing writes that these words trouble him and that he considers the claim that abuse is primarily a human problem to be “insufficient.” He admits he does not wish to attribute to the Pope any intention of rejecting scientific knowledge wholesale and acknowledges that Leo XIV has highlighted the particular wound of the victims and the Church’s responsibility. Precisely for this reason, he says, he desires from him “an equally clear recognition of the systemic causes.”
The bishop also poses a direct question to the Pontiff: whether he admits that not only specific individuals and organizations, but also particular structures of the Catholic Church have facilitated abuse and its cover-up. He recalls that the 2018 MHG study identified risk factors inherent to the ecclesial environment, including clericalism, asymmetrical power relations, the sacral exaltation of priestly authority, and a taboo-laden approach to sexuality and sexual orientation. He maintains that recognizing systemic causes is not unique to the German debate and warns that downplaying them would represent a serious setback.
Defense of the Synodal Way and rebuke of the Curia
Bätzing uses the text to defend the Synodal Way, which he says has made “an essential contribution” by placing power, responsibility, and accountability at the center of reform. He also mentions the diocesan project “Betroffene hören – Missbrauch verhindern.” Regarding Rome, he states: “With respect to the Roman Curia, I still see very little of the fundamental cultural change we need.”
In the same article he addresses homosexuality in the clergy. In his view, the risk factor is not the homosexual orientation of priests, but its tabooization, which, he argues, can foster dependencies and a culture of silence. Bätzing chaired the German episcopate until February of this year and continues to lead the Diocese of Limburg, one of those that, as InfoVaticana reported, apply the manual of blessings for same-sex couples despite Rome’s rejection.