More Regensburg abuse claims

THE Regensburg diocese in Pope Benedict’s native Bavaria has confirmed new allegations of child sexual abuse against four priests and two nuns, in the latest cases damaging the Catholic Church’s image in Germany.

The diocese vowed to hand any concrete criminal evidence to the public prosecutor, even though the statute of limitations has expired. Those suspected of sexual abuse will be suspended pending the investigation, it added.

Most of the alleged incidents occurred in the 1970s, though one was in 1984, it said.