BERLIN (Reuters) – Former Pope Benedict XVI plans to defend himself in a civil lawsuit lodged at a German court by a man who accuses him of helping to cover up historical abuse, a court spokesperson said on Tuesday. In the latest twist in a long-running scandal engulfing the Catholic Church, a so-called declaratory action was brought in June on behalf of a man, then 38-years old, who said he was abused by a priest as a child. The complaint targets a priest, identified as Peter H., and Benedict who was Archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1977 to 1982, as well as his successor Cardinal Friedr…