Head of Germany's Catholics offers resignation over abuse failures

Marx, who is Archbishop of Munich, said in a statement on his archdiocese's website that the Pope had instructed him to remain in office until he had decided whether to accept the resignation.

The head of the Catholic Church in Germany, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, has offered his resignation from his position as Archbishop to the Pope, saying he had to share responsibility for the "catastrophe" of sexual abuse by clerics over past decades. His offer, which has yet to be accepted by the Pope, comes amid a growing uproar among the German faithful over abuse. Last week, the Pope sent two senior foreign bishops to investigate the Archdiocese of Cologne, Germany's largest, over its handling of abuse cases.

"I have to share responsibility for the catastrophe of sexual abuse by officials of the Church over past decades," Marx wrote, who is Archbishop of Munich, adding that he hoped his departure would create space for a new beginning. Marx, who is Archbishop of Munich, said in a statement on his archdiocese's website that the Pope had instructed him to remain in office until he had decided whether to accept the resignation.

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