Benedict woes come as German church reform pressure rises

By GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — A report on decades of sexual abuse in Germany that shone an unflattering spotlight on retired Pope Benedict XVI has come on top of already strong pressure in Germany to reconsider Catholic rules on issues including homosexuality and women’s roles. It adds to a mounting sense of impatience in the country’s church. The latest flare-up of the sexual abuse scandal in the German church, one of the world’s richest, comes as a trailblazing reform process launched in 2019 in response to the abuse crisis begins to call for concrete changes. Those include allowing blessings for same-sex couples, married priests and the ordination of women as deacons.