The conclusion of Benedict's lawyers was resolute: "As an archbishop, Cardinal Ratzinger was not involved in any cover-up of acts of abuse," they wrote. They criticized the report's authors for misinterpreting their submission, and asserted that they provided no evidence that Benedict was aware of the criminal history of any of the four priests.
Benedict's response was more nuanced and spiritual, though he went on at length to thank his legal team before even addressing the allegations or the abuse victims.
"I have had great responsibilities in the Catholic Church," Benedict said. "All the greater is my pain for the abuses and the errors that occurred in those different places during the time of my mandate."
Benedict issued what he called a "confession," though he didn't confess to any specific fault. He recalled that daily Mass begins with believers confessing their sins and asking forgiveness even for "grievous faults." Benedict noted that in his meetings with abuse victims while he was pope, "I have seen firsthand the effects of a most grievous fault.
"And I have come to understand that we ourselves are drawn into this grievous fault whenever we neglect it or fail to confront it with the necessary decisiveness and responsibility, as too often happened and continues to happen," he wrote. "As in those meetings, once again I can only express to all the victims of sexual abuse my profound shame, my deep sorrow and my heartfelt request for forgiveness."
His response drew swift criticism from Eckiger Tisch, a group representing German clergy abuse survivors, who said it fit into the church's "permanent relativising on matters of abuse — wrongdoing and mistakes took place, but no one takes concrete responsibility."
Benedict "can't bring himself simply to state that he is sorry not to have done more to protect the children entrusted to his church," the group said.
The retired pope's response will likely complicate efforts by German bishops to try to re-establish credibility with the faithful, whose demands for accountability have only increased after decades of abuse and cover-up.
The head of the German bishops conference, Limburg Bishop Georg Baetzing, had previously said that Benedict needed to respond to the report by distancing himself from his lawyers and advisers. "He must talk, and he must override his advisers and essentially say the simple sentence: 'I incurred guilt, I made mistakes and I apologize to those affected,'" Baetzing said.
But in a tweet, Baetzing only noted that Benedict had responded.
"I am grateful to him for that and he deserves respect for it," Baetzing wrote. The tweet didn't address the substance of Benedict's response.
The law firm report identified four cases in which Ratzinger was accused of misconduct in failing to act against abusers.
Two cases involved priests who offended while Ratzinger was archbishop and were punished by the German legal system but were kept in pastoral work without any limits on their ministry. A third case involved a cleric who was convicted by a court outside Germany but was put into service in Munich. The fourth case involved a convicted peadophile priest who was allowed to transfer to Munich in 1980, and was later put into ministry. In 1986, that priest received a suspended sentence for molesting a boy.
Benedict's team had earlier clarified an initial "error" in their submission to the law firm that had insisted Ratzinger was not present at the 1980 meeting in which the priest's transfer to Munich was discussed. Ratzinger was there, but the priest's return to ministry was not discussed, they said.
Benedict said he was deeply hurt that the "oversight" about his presence at the 1980 meeting had been used to "cast doubt on my truthfulness, and even to label me a liar." But he said he had been heartened by the support he had received.
"I am particularly grateful for the confidence, support and prayer that Pope Francis personally expressed to me," he said.
The Vatican had already strongly defended Benedict's record after the law firm report, recalling that Benedict was the first pope to meet with victims of abuse, that he had issued strong norms to punish priests who raped children and had directed the church to pursue a path of humility in seeking forgiveness for the crimes of its clerics.
The Vatican's defence, however, focused primarily on Benedict's tenure as head of the Holy See's doctrine office and his eight-year papacy.
Benedict reflected on his legacy in his letter.
"Quite soon, I shall find myself before the final judge of my life," he wrote. "Even though, as I look back on my long life, I can have great reason for fear and trembling, I am nonetheless of good cheer. For I trust firmly that the Lord is not only the just judge, but also the friend and brother who himself has already suffered for my shortcomings."
Benedict's response also rang hollow outside of Germany, with the US-based survivor's advocacy group, SNAP, accusing him of "repeating words of apology that have fallen on deaf ears for decades."
And Mitchell Garabedian, the Boston attorney of "Spotlight" fame who has represented hundreds of abuse victims, said Benedict's words re-victimised and insulted survivors.
"He's a leader setting a poor example morally, and in the process he is encouraging further cover-up of clergy sexual abuse," he said.
But Pope Francis' top adviser on preventing abuse, Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley, found in Benedict's letter sincere "contrition for what has been lacking in his stewardship."
"Benedict's acknowledgement of the irreparable harm caused by sexual abuse in the church and of his own failings to do everything to prevent such harm is a challenge to all those who hold positions of leadership in the church," O'Malley said. "We must do better."
