Title: For years, Cardinal Marx has been face of Catholic Church in Germany
BERLIN — No other German bishop has dominated Catholic life in Germany as much in recent years as Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who announced he will stay on as archbishop of Munich and Freising despite a report faulting his leadership in handling abuse cases in the archdiocese.The 68-year-old former president of the German bishops’ conference has been the face of Catholicism in Germany, an outspoken presence on sociopolitical issues, for the past two decades. But in recent years he has been dogged by rumors about his role in covering up or not acting fast enough in alleged sexual abuse cases in the dioceses he headed.
When he was named bishop of Trier in 2002, parishioners saw him as young and open-minded, easily approachable. His sermons in city’s fourth-century cathedral drew large crowds.
He was an outspoken critic of the culture of greed in modern capitalism and repeatedly pleaded with managers to subscribe to the social components of a social market economy. In 2006, he criticized the “audacious” salary hikes of top managers.