World | Georg Ratzinger Pope's Brother: I Overlooked Choir Abuse Georg Ratzinger also admits to slapping students in the face By Kevin Spak Posted Mar 9, 2010 2:32 PM CST Copied Georg Ratzinger, brother of Pope Benedict XVI, gives interviews in Regensburg, southern Germany, in this April 20, 2005 file photo. (AP Photo/Uwe Lein,File) Pope Benedict’s brother today revealed that he used to slap pupils in the face at the Catholic school in Germany whose prestigious choir he led, and that he’d ignored allegations of more serious physical abuses. “Pupils told me about what went on,” Georg Ratzinger said in an interview today. “But it didn’t dawn on me from their stories that I should do something. I was not aware of the extent of these brutal methods.” “At the start, I also slapped people in the face,” the 86-year-old priest added, “but I always had a bad conscience.” He says the school headmaster disciplined students that way as well. The choir Georg Ratzinger led from 1964 to 1994 is at the center of an exploding Catholic school abuse scandal in Germany. Sexual abuse has been alleged as well, but Ratzinger denied any knowledge of that. Read These Next Trump is calling out the 'arm of the Democratic party.' Man murdered in Mississippi is a US-touring comedian. You know you're good when you get a high-five from your heckler. FEMA staff: Trump administration is breaking the law. Report an error