Clerical apologies should be no charm against enforcement of the law [Addendum]

Apologies from bishops apparently aren't considered an adequate substitute for enforcement of the law in Germany. According to CNN:

Investigators with the Munich State Prosecutors Office visited the Benedictine Abbey of Ettal on Tuesday afternoon as part of their ongoing investigation into allegations of sexual abuse of underage children by priests there.

,p>Authorities are now assessing evidence collected at the abbey, the prosecutors said.

The overarching scandal emerged in January, centered on a single school, and has been followed by a parade of disclosures whose pattern resembles that in Ireland and the U.S.

Once again, the Catholic church protected its authority, at the expense of the parishioners.

Addendum

What does the church do with offenders? The Irish Times, working from an Irish investigative report, found some had taken refuge, often still in the Catholic church's pay. The Belfast Times reports that some were or are in the U.S.