COLOGNE, Germany (AP) — A report commissioned by Germany’s Cologne archdiocese on church officials’ handling of past cases of sexual abuse has found 75 cases in which high-ranking officials neglected their duties. The findings on Thursday prompted the archbishop of Hamburg to offer his resignation to Pope Francis. The report commissioned by Cologne’s archbishop absolved him of any neglect of duty with respect to abuse victims, but it accused his late predecessor of multiple failings. Hamburg Archbishop Stefan Hesse also was faulted for neglecting his duty. There was no immediate comment from the Vatican, and it was unlikely Francis would act quickly on Hesse’s offer to resign.
