German prosecutors examined late pope in abuse probe

BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors looking into historical cases of sexual abuse by clergy in the Munich archdiocese say that they initially investigated the late Pope Benedict XVI on suspicion of being an accessory to abuse, but later dropped the probe. Munich prosecutors examined 45 cases of possible wrongdoing by church officials that arose from a report into how the archdiocese handled abuse cases between 1945 and 2019. Prosecutors said Tuesday that that “three (at the time) living church personnel managers” were listed as suspects for a time, but proceedings were dropped over time because investigators failed to turn up a “sufficient suspicion of criminal action.”