The abuse scandal in the Catholic Church was uncovered in 2010. The diocese of Osnabrück has been investigating crimes against children in its communities since 1945. How does the church deal with this?
In a study on sexualized violence in the diocese of Osnabrück, a number of violations by the Catholic Church in dealing with those affected were found. Hans Schulte-Nölke, law professor at the University of Osnabrück, explained on Tuesday that it is about the obligations to provide assistance and to financially acknowledge the suffering.
Horrible things were done to those affected by priests as children, and in many cases their entire life was affected by this experience of violence. “The files did not give us the impression that the diocese of Osnabrück always examined the claims of those affected benevolently. Those affected were treated bureaucratically and dismissively,” said the scientist.
Behavior of the church leadership examined
The interim report on the three-year research project focuses on the cases of 15 accused priests and one deacon. The behavior of the church leadership after the allegations became known was examined. According to university information, more than 300 files have been evaluated and interviews have been conducted with 34 people from the current and former diocese leadership, including bishops, vicar generals and personnel officers.
The research team proved individual breaches of duty by the responsible bishops. “They left dangerous priests in office or transferred them to another community,” said Schulte-Nölke. The incumbent Bishop of Osnabrück, Franz-Josef Bode, has also repeatedly left dangerous priests in office. However, a change has been noticeable since around 2010, with accused priests being removed from service more quickly, the legal scholar explained.
Bishop wants to comment in press conference
Bode has been bishop of the diocese of Osnabrück since 1995 and has been deputy chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference since 2017. The 71-year-old wants to comment on the first results of the independent study at a press conference on Thursday.
The diocese of Osnabrück commissioned the team of legal scholars and historians to investigate sexualized violence against minors and vulnerable adults in its territory since 1945. The church provided 1.3 million euros for this purpose. Until 1995, today’s archdiocese of Hamburg also belonged to the diocese of Osnabrück. It also includes areas in western Lower Saxony and parts of the city of Bremen.
The abuse scandal in the Catholic Church was uncovered in 2010. As it turned out, priests had sexually abused thousands of children since 1945. Only a tiny fraction of the crimes were prosecuted, much was covered up by the church leadership. In the Protestant Church, too, children and those in need of protection have become victims of attacks. Some of those affected accuse the evangelical church of slow processing.
Source: Stern
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