Eurotopics.net

After a long silence Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has reacted to the incriminating report on cases of sexual abuse against children in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. He wrote a letter asking the victims for forgiveness. At the same time he firmly rejects accusations of having covered up the affair. The press is divided: is this a sincere apology or out of touch with reality?

Covid not only poses a threat to physical health but is also taking its toll on people's mental health. Scientists are observing a surge in levels of loneliness, and a new report published by the EU Commission found that the number of people suffering from feelings of loneliness had doubled during the Covid crisis. European media outlets draw different conclusions about this trend.

Russia's President Putin and his French counterpart Macron discussed the Ukraine crisis for six hours during the latter's visit to Moscow on Monday. Although no concrete results were achieved, Putin described the conversation as useful. Macron noted that there was much work to be done but that there were also issues on which the two see eye to eye. Europe's press is unimpressed.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has visited US President Joe Biden in Washington. In the ensuing news conference the two leaders sought to send a clear message to deter Russia from invading Ukraine. But while Biden intimated that Nord Stream II could be cancelled, Scholz avoided making an unequivocal statement on the matter. The press asks whether the warning was credible enough.

In the Partygate scandal surrounding British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie Johnson is increasingly coming under fire. Tory peer Michael Ashcroft's new book First Lady, which criticises that she wields too much influence, has fanned the flames of the scandal. Commentators examine to what extent the accusations are driven by misogyny.