3,677 sex abuse cases in German Catholic Church, study finds
German Bishops Conference regrets leaking of the report, but admits that
the study confirms “the extent of the sexual abuse” that took place
An investigation in the United States last month found rampant
sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by about 300 Catholic priests
in the US state of Pennsylvania
BERLIN: A report on sexual abuse inside the Catholic Church in Germany
says 3,677 people were abused by clergy between 1946 and 2014, two
leading German media outlets said Wednesday.
Spiegel Online and Die Zeit said the report they obtained — commissioned
by the German Bishops Conference and researched by three universities —
concludes that more than half of the victims were 13 or younger and
most were boys. Every sixth case involved rape and at least 1,670 clergy
were involved, both weeklies reported. Die Zeit wrote that 969 abuse
victims were altar boys.
The report also says that the actual number of victims was likely much
higher, according to the research by experts from the Universities of
Giessen, Heidelberg and Mannheim.
The German Bishops Conference said in a written response a few hours
later that it regretted the leaking of the report, but that the study
confirms “the extent of the sexual abuse” that took place.
“It is depressing and shameful for us,” Bishop Stephan Ackermann said.
He didn’t further elaborate on the findings of the report, but said the
Catholic group would present the study as initially planned on Sept. 25
together with the authors.
Die Zeit wrote that researchers weren’t allowed to look at the original
church files but had to provide questionnaires to the dioceses, which
then provided the information.
In their conclusions, the researchers write that there was evidence that
some files were manipulated or destroyed, many cases were not brought
to justice, and that sometimes abuse suspects — primarily priests — were
simply moved to other dioceses without the congregations being informed
about their past.
The Catholic Church has been struggling with sex abuse by its clergy for a long time.
In 2010, the German church was roiled by a sex abuse scandal triggered
by the head of a Jesuit school in Berlin who went public about
decades-long sexual abuse of high school students by clergy. Following
that, a whole wave of victims who were sexually abused by clergy spoke
out across the country.
An investigation in the United States last month found rampant sexual
abuse of more than 1,000 children by about 300 Catholic priests in
Pennsylvania.
Earlier this week, the Vatican said it is preparing the “necessary
clarifications” about accusations that top Vatican officials including
Pope Francis covered up the sexual misconduct of a now-disgraced
American ex-cardinal.
Also on Wednesday, the Vatican said it’s summoning the presidents of
every bishops conference around the world for a February summit to
discuss preventing clergy sex abuse and protecting children.
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