Chancellor addresses history of scandal in Pope's homeland

GERMAN chancellor Angela Merkel has called the clerical sex abuse scandal in the homeland of Pope Benedict XVI a major challenge for society and warned the only way to come to terms with it was to "find out everything that has happened".

Ms Merkel's comments to parliament yesterday came amid growing impatience from Germany's Roman Catholics for the pontiff to address the scandal in his homeland, where some 300 former students have alleged physical or sexual abuse.

Ms Merkel stressed that it was important not to point fingers in the scandal, sparked in January when victims at a church-run Berlin high school went public.

In the ensuing weeks, victims have surfaced nearly every day with fresh allegations of abuse at the hands of priests and teachers, including at the school linked to the renowned Regensburger Domspatzen boys choir, led for three decades by the Pope's brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger.