Bavaria: “That’s a joke!”: Abuse expert sees deficits

Two years after the publication of the highly acclaimed study on sexual violence in the Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, expert Ulrich Wastl still sees major deficits in dealing with those affected – and not just within the church.

The lawyer from the law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl (WSW) sharply criticized the contact point set up by the Bavarian state government for victims of abuse and sexual violence in an interview with the “Augsburger Allgemeine”: “To put it clearly: This is a joke!” He had “the impression that its establishment was more or less due to the state election campaign”.

Study assumes at least 497 victims

The WSW law firm was commissioned by the Munich Archdiocese to carry out an expert report on cases of abuse. The study, which made headlines around the world in January 2022, assumes at least 497 victims and 235 suspected perpetrators – and a much larger number of unreported cases.

The former archbishops Friedrich Wetter and Joseph Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI. was personally accused of misconduct in several cases in the report – as was the current incumbent, Cardinal Reinhard Marx.

Refurbishment projects require backbone, emphasized Wastl. “It would still be important to have a completely independent and appropriately funded body that not only provides those affected with comprehensive advice, but also represents their interests,” he told the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. “A balance of power must finally be established between those affected and the church.”

Abuse report