German Catholic cardinal abandons medal over church abuse legacy
Cardinal Reinhard Marx s decision to waive one of Germany s highest honors is a sign that church aristocracy is finally glancing at past harm done, say sexual abuse victims.
Marx had been due next Friday to receive Germany s top Order of Merit with Star
Groups for survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy in the Cologne and Trier dioceses welcomed Cardinal Reinhard Marx s decision not to receive one of Germany s top awards for public service akin to an Anglo-Saxon knighthood. It shows that churchly princes also are finally glancing at the people harmed, said Peter Bringmann-Henselder of a Cologne diocese advisory group, referring to the many children abused in the past by priests.