Metro
Ex-Pope Benedict XVI asks for forgiveness over sex abuse scandal
Ex-pope Benedict XVI asked for forgiveness Tuesday for clerical child sex abuse committed on his watch, but aides rejected allegations of a cover-up while he was archbishop of Munich.
“I can only express to all the victims of sexual abuse my profound shame, my deep sorrow and my heartfelt request for forgiveness,” the 94-year-old said in a letter published by the Vatican.
The letter from the former pontiff — who stepped down in 2013 — was released in response to a German inquiry last month that criticised his handling of cases involving paedophile priests in the 1980s.
“I have had great responsibilities in the Catholic Church. All the greater is my pain for the abuses and the errors that occurred in those different places during the time of my mandate,” he wrote.
However, organisations representing abuse victims criticised the lack of specifics in his comments.
German group Eckiger Tisch said Benedict continued a Catholic Church tradition of declaring that “there were acts and faults, but no one takes concrete responsibility”.
Last month’s German investigation accused the former pope of knowingly failing to stop four priests accused of child sex abuse when he was archbishop of Munich between 1977 and 1982.
Benedict, who is in frail health, asked a team of aides to help him respond to the lengthy findings by law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl (WSW), charged by the archdiocese of Munich and Freising to examine abuse between 1945 and 2019.
The aides insisted in an accompanying statement Tuesday that “as an archbishop, Cardinal Ratzinger was not involved in any cover-up of acts of abuse”, using the pope’s birth name, Joseph Ratzinger.
Not Aware
In one case, a now-notorious paedophile priest named Peter Hullermann was transferred to Munich from Essen in western Germany where he had been accused of abusing an 11-year-old boy.
Benedict’s team has already admitted to unintentionally giving incorrect information to the report authors when they denied his attendance at a meeting about Hullermann in 1980.
But they denied any decision had been taken at that meeting about reassigning the priest to pastoral duties, and on Tuesday said the abuse had not been discussed.
“In none of the cases analysed by the expert report was Joseph Ratzinger aware of sexual abuse committed or suspicion of sexual abuse committed by priests. The expert report provides no evidence to the contrary,” the statement said.
In his letter, Benedict expressed hurt that the “oversight” over his attendance at the 1980 meeting “was used to cast doubt on my truthfulness, and even to label me a liar”.
Benedict, who lives in a former monastery within the Vatican walls, said he was grateful “for the confidence, support and prayer that Pope Francis personally expressed to me”.
Francis has said nothing in public although the Vatican defended Benedict last month, noting his meetings with abuse victims and introduction of laws to combat paedophilia.
Fear and Trembling
Before becoming pope, Benedict led the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation, giving him ultimate responsibility to investigate abuse cases.
In his letter, he spoke of “confession”, saying that every day, he asked himself whether he was guilty of “a most grievous fault”, using the phrase said during confession at Mass.
“In all my meetings… with victims of sexual abuse by priests, I have seen at first hand the effects of a most grievous fault,” he wrote.
“I have come to understand that we ourselves are drawn into this grievous fault whenever we neglect it or fail to confront it with the necessary decisiveness and responsibility, as too often happened and continues to happen.”
But his comments fell short of what the SNAP survivors network said was required.
“The opportunity for cleansing (that) the report out of Munich offered has been squandered,” it said, condemning Benedict’s “lack of candour”.
Benedict finished his letter observing that “quite soon, I shall find myself before the final judge of my life”.
“As I look back on my long life, I can have great reason for fear and trembling,” he wrote.
But he was nevertheless “of good cheer” as he prepared to “pass confidently through the dark door of death”.
Residents of the Hotoro area of Kano were thrown into panic after a woman allegedly set her co-wife and two children ablaze in a late-night domestic attack.
The incident occurred on Monday night in the Mai Allo area of Hotoro, leaving four persons with varying degrees of burns.
The victims — a 28-year-old woman and her two children aged seven and three — are currently receiving treatment at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Dala and Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital.
Their father, who reportedly sustained injuries while attempting to rescue the victims from the inferno, is also undergoing treatment.
A relative of the family informed that they received a distress call around 3am informing them that the woman, her husband and the children had been set ablaze.
According to the source, the victim had spent less than two weeks in her matrimonial home before the attack occurred.
“She is about 28 years old. The children are from her previous marriage. They are stepchildren to the husband, who works as a tricycle rider,” the relative added.
Residents of the area described the incident as horrifying and called on security agencies to ensure justice was served.
“We are shocked by what happened. This kind of violence has no place in our community,” a resident said.
The suspect has since been taken into custody at the Mariri Police Division.
As of the time of filing this report, the Kano State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement on the incident.
The Federal Government on Wednesday disclosed that no fewer than 226 Local Government Areas across 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory fall within high flood-risk zones in 2026.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, made this known during the public presentation of the 2026 Annual Flood Outlook by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency held at the State Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Utsev said a total of 14,118 communities in 266 LGAs across the affected states and the FCT had been identified as highly vulnerable to flooding.
He listed the states as Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara, and the FCT.
The minister added that 405 LGAs in 35 states fall within the moderate flood-risk category, with Ekiti State as the only state not captured under this classification.
He further noted that 923 communities in 77 LGAs across 24 states would experience minimal flooding.
“Low flood risk incidences are expected in Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Sokoto, Taraba, and Zamfara,” Utsev said.
The minister also disclosed that the 2026 Annual Flood Outlook introduced a community-based flood forecasting system designed to provide location-specific predictions for faster response and intervention.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to strengthening emergency response systems and promoting sustainable development nationwide.
Represented by the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, the President said the government had reviewed existing challenges and acknowledged the critical role of rescue teams in mitigating disasters.
He noted that efforts were ongoing to enhance the capacity and coordination of relevant ministries for more effective and timely emergency responses.
Tinubu stressed that improved communication, strategic planning, and collaboration remained vital to addressing emerging challenges and ensuring better service delivery.
The President added that with strengthened systems in place, the government was confident of mitigating risks and improving outcomes for citizens.
The event, themed ‘Smart Water Resources Management: Moving From Oil To A Water-Based Economy’, was attended by ministers and key stakeholders in the water and environmental sectors.
Police authorities in Ondo State have confirmed a robbery attack at the Basic Health Centre in the Oke-Ijebu area of Akure, the state capital, in the early hours of Saturday.
It was gathered that three suspects armed with pump-action rifles and cutlasses invaded the facility after arriving in a black Toyota Venza, which they parked along the main road. The assailants reportedly scaled the perimeter fence to gain access to the premises.
During the attack, three health workers on duty were forcefully dispossessed of their personal belongings, including mobile phones and a Point of Sale terminal. The suspects subsequently whisked the victims away towards the Olokuta Correctional Centre axis along Ondo Road.
The spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, DSP Abayomi Jimoh, confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Saturday.
According to him, “Preliminary investigation reveals that the suspects ordered them to remove their clothing and subsequently abandoned them in the bush before fleeing the scene. The victims, however, found resort from nearby staff of the Correctional Service.”
Jimoh disclosed that security patrols had been intensified, while collaboration with other security agencies and local vigilante groups had been strengthened to enhance safety across the state.
He urged residents to remain calm, vigilant and law-abiding, adding that members of the public should promptly report suspicious activities or useful information to the nearest police station or other security agencies.
The police spokesman assured residents that the command remained committed to safeguarding lives and property and would not relent in efforts to rid the state of criminal elements.
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