Austria's statute of limitations prevented civil authorities from prosecuting Groër. In 2010, Cardinal Schönborn said that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had attempted to convince Pope John Paul II to initiate the investigation[6][7] and–in a conversation with journalists that he thought was private–said that Angelo Cardinal Sodano had blocked his attempt to investigate Groër's activities.[8][9][lower-alpha 1] Church officials are also alleged to have offered some of Groër's former pupils compensation in return for agreeing not to repeat their charges against him.[7] Hubertus Czernin, author of a book about the case, believes that that Groër abused more than 2000 young men. Groër continued to deny the allegations until his death.[5][11]