Reflections on life, meaning and purpose

Cardinal Marx Apologizes for Officer Who Was Later a Bishop’s Role in World War II Massacre

EOM/Robert Kiderle
Cardinal Reinhard Marx meets with a delegation from the Italian village of Filetto di Camarda in his residence in Munich on July 9.

Before he ascended to the rank of auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising in 1968, Matthias Defregger wore a different uniform. As a captain in the 114th Jäger Division, he presided over a grim chapter of history.