Astoundingly candid bishop says Catholic Church is a shattered remains of its former self

German Bishop Heiner Wilmer, who is reportedly close to Pope Francis, has claimed that the Catholic Church has utterly gambled away people’s trust in the institution by the way it has mishandled the clergy sex abuse crisis.

Protecting the institution and the perpetrators was always the most important factor for the Church. (Protecting) the victims, on the other hand, simply did not occur, said the 60-year-old Bishop Wilmer, head of the northern German Diocese of Hildesheim.

He made his remarks to some 200 representatives of religious, social and political groups who were gathered for an annual diocesan-sponsored reception in Hannover.

The bishop was filling in for Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who had to cancel his participation after he tested positive for the coronavirus.

Wilmer, whose address was titled SOS — It is no less a matter of saving our souls, warned that the Catholic Church would no longer be able to play a dominant role in society.