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GERMANY’S CATHOLIC CHURCH has apologised to the thousands of victims of sexual assault by clergy, with the institution’s top cardinal saying perpetrators must be brought to justice.
Cardinal Reinhard Marx said he was ashamed over the decades of abuse that have shattered trust, the crimes carried out by Church officials, as well as how so many have looked away for so long.
The dismay expressed by the head of the German Bishops’ Conference came as the institution published a damning report showing that in Germany, almost 3,700 minors – mostly boys – were assaulted between 1946 and 2014.
The report’s authors said however that the figure was “the tip of the iceberg”.
“Sexual abuse is a persistent problem and not a historical problem” in the Catholic Church, said Harald Dressing, a professor at the Mannheim Institute of Psychology, who coordinated the research commissioned by the Bishops’ Conference.
“I have to say very clearly that sexual abuse is a crime. Those who are guilty must be punished,” said Cardinal Marx.
For all the failures and for all the pain, as chairman of Germany’s Bishops Conference, I apologise. I also apologise personally.
“We are not done with confronting the incidents and consequences, it begins now,” he stressed at a press conference.
‘Abuse, transfers, cover-ups’
Victims have criticised the report for falling short of what is needed to flush out perpetrators.
They urged the Church to bring in independent experts for a thorough audit and called for victim compensation.
“The system of abuse, transfers (of offending priests) and cover-ups cannot be mapped out” by a study that had access only to available personnel documents, said the victims’ association Eckiger Tisch.
“There are no names given of the responsible bishops who have perfected the system of covering up sexual attacks over decades.”
Justice Minister Katarina Barley also urged the Church to work with state prosecutors to bring every known case to justice.
Cardinal Marx acknowledged that a thorough reckoning of the problem was “absolutely necessary” but underlined that the process was colossal and would require time.
“We can’t just publish names. A complete rehabilitation also includes dialogue. Maybe a truth commission,” he said, promising action.
Predator priests
According to the study, 1,670 clergymen in Germany committed some form of sexual attack against 3,677 minors, mostly boys, between 1946 and 2014, intimidating their victims into keeping quiet.
More than half of the victims were 13 years old or younger, the study concluded, after examining 38,000 documents from the 27 German dioceses.
The survey’s researchers warned that the true scale of the abuse was far greater, as many documents had been “destroyed or manipulated”.
Predator priests were often transferred to another parish, which was not warned about their criminal history.
Only about one in three were subject to disciplinary hearings by the Church, and most got away with minimal punishment. Only 38% were prosecuted by civil courts.
Systemic abuse
The research is the latest in a series of reports on sexual crimes and cover-ups worldwide spanning decades that has shaken the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis has himself been accused of ignoring abuse allegations against prominent US cardinal Theodore McCarrick for five years. The pontiff has so far refused to respond to the claims.
He has however announced a Vatican meeting of national Church leaders on the protection of minors, for February 2019.
Joerg Schuh of the Berlin-based Tauwetter centre for victims of sexual abuse told AFP TV that “the Catholic Church has a global problem” and called on the pope to make it “his number one topic”.
Major abuse cases in Germany have included a Berlin elite Jesuit school and the world-famous Catholic choir school the Regensburger Domspatzen where more than 500 boys suffered sexual or physical abuse.
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This happened the same day as the mother and baby report was released. FFG know well what they’re at timing it as such. Shower of…..
@Ciarán O’ Donoghue: majority of comments deleted due to language unfortunately. I wish that we all contact our elected politicians today and say NO. I didn’t break regulations and I do not accept this from banks nor political parties or anyone.
@Ciarán O’ Donoghue: FFG is not a party. Bit like saying SFDUP which would be inaccurate.
@Fionn Darland: well there are some very major differences between sf and the dup, you may have noticed them, on the other hand there are zero differences between ff and fg so to all intents and purposes they are one party.
@Fionn Darland:
FFG pretends to be 2 separate parties but they can be regarded as a solitary party.
@Paul Somers: couldn’t of said it better myself
Do as I as I say, not as I do.
@John Fairclough: farcical.
@John Fairclough: excuse me, but how can a comment that I or you made now appear in a different article. Neither of us saw this poor article, we respectfully commented on a well articulated article two days ago.
Couple months off on full pay, and snouts back in the trough. They’re taking the p.
Same old thing. coalition and FF will be gone within 6 months.
@John Collier: To be replaced by what exactly?
@Eoin McCarthy: Sinn Fein?
Getting FFG out of power is essential. They have had 100 years uninterrupted power.
The housing crisis and health crisis will never be solved with FFG in power so they need to go. Urgently.
Things are moving in that direction. its downward spiral of support continues. Currently at 43% support the next election should hopefully further rediuce its support to 35%.
Very smart of them to say ‘I shouldn’t have been there in the first place’ rather than saying that the tax-subsidesed Party shouldn’t have happened in the first place
Personal responsibility when it reflects bad on their mates, shared responsibility when it looks refkects on them as individuals. The typical FFG line. Yawn.
@Dylan Byrne: How was it subsidised by tax payer? FFG is not a party. Bit like saying SFDUP which would be inaccurate.
@Dylan Byrne: It wasn’t taxpayer subsidised
Con men.
Typical FF.
Totally gutless.
Their a rses w hipped is what should be done !
When will the people of this country wake up and stop voting for this FFG Mafia.
Funny how they ‘shouldn’t have been there in the first place’ isn’t ‘that Party the tax payers paid for shouldn’t have happened in the first place’
Personal responsibility when it reflects badly on their mates – Shared responsibility when it reflects badly on themselves.
Typical FFG line, it’s hardly surprising anymore.
This is not a Fairway to treat the Public, it’s Bunker politics again and putts stroke play back on the cards.
@James Keogh: Hole in one there!!
Definition of insanity electing the same low life and expecting a different outcome
At this stage I have to ask why do people vote for them?
This world is doomed 70m trump supporters says it all
@Helena O Riordan: sorry to say but when there is a reasonable alternative. They are all the same at the moment. All there to skim what they can from the surface and crawl away with all the benefits and not be answerable to anyone.
@Edward Reid:
It’s time to give Sinn Fein a chance. If they screw up then they can be voted out again.
Getting rid of FFG is now urgent.
Oh what contempt ff and fg hold the people of this country in! And to announce this at midnight in the midst of the mother and baby report findings. Proof if any was needed that those who hold the power in this country laugh at the “little people “.
Election on the way by the look of this crack.
It’s just a magic roundabout that goes around and around. Rest in peace zeibidee, the way you popped up to surprise us back in them days is long gone.
Bigger issues to be dealt with tbh. Are we all so innocent. One thing about politicians is they are open to criticism every day, we the people are not
@Fintan O’Halloran: when you enter that life, you take the good and bad that comes with it, I have no time for “selective” politicians. If you live in the public life, you accept the public criticism, end of.
@Fintan O’Halloran: They should be held to a higher standard than us, the people that elect and pay them.
@Fintan O’Halloran: The politicians with their salary plus vouched and unvouched expences should certainly be open to criticism . The circus continues.
@Fintan O’Halloran: Sure they attack and undermine each other more than the public does. I wouldn’t be too concerned with their feelings. You can be sure they’re not bother about yours.
How cynical can you get?…releasing this news on a big Newsday with the Mother and children’s homes report. The media in this country have a lot to answer for.
GOOD OLD IRISH POLITICS
FF looking after their own
Ahem…..
I wonder if we will ever get an honest government in power in Ireland?. The dealings and bull s**t that spout from hese people beggers belief.
This is appalling.
We had a referendum on keeping the Seanad in 2013. We voted – with a very small margin – to keep it, on the clear understanding that it would be reformed and made democratically accountable.
Nothing has happened since.
ALL senators are thieves. They are claiming a salary of 70,000 eur a year each for doing absolutely nothing.
The Seanad needs to be abolished.
18 comments here. 108 on one if another county’s politics. This is why these things continue here.
Ooh friend.! Fukn politican friend!
Someone once said we get the government we deserve…that says it all
Makes me sick the way these ars–olesget away with breaking the law
Goes to show how deluded ffg are. They seem to not think breaking the law is a problem. Funny how this happens when the gravest of reports is released, so the attention is off them. A report that subsequently critized numerous ffg governments
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