Local Bishop Replaced in Latest Diocese Switch - Regarding abuse issues, regional bishop facing increasing pressure.
Year after year, survivors have voiced their dissatisfaction with the sluggish management of sexual assault cases within the Hannover Church. As the Landessynode, the church assembly, assembles, mounting pressure falls on Bishop Ralf Meister.
In an open letter, several survivors call for the bishop's resignation. "As children and adolescents, we were subjected to sexualized violence in the parishes of the Hannover Church. Over the years, we approached the church in our adulthood to seek help and changed parishes, only to find ourselves continuously rebuffed," the letter shared on Wednesday reads.
It took immense bravery to shatter the silence. "Unfortunately, we were often disheartened. Our concerns were either ignored or addressed with significant time lags. Parishes were not informed."
The survivors' platform accuses Bishop Meister of downplaying the seriousness of sexualized violence. Such negligence, they warn, endangers "children and young people who currently engage with the church due to unrecognized and unresolved structures of abuse."
It's high time the bishop assumes responsibility. "The only appropriate step is for Bishop Meister to step down," read the letter.
Multiple church bodies have come forward in defense of Bishop Meister. The Hannover Church has made considerable progress and strengthened the office for sexualized violence, the joint statement reads. "As church leadership bodies, we strongly believe that Ralf Meister is fulfilling his role as bishop, including admitting past missteps and implementing corrective measures."
However, the survivors reveal more troubling experiences involving the better-funded office since 2021. Bishop Meister addressed this, stating: "We have a series of additional changes planned and partly implemented since the beginning of the year. This failure on our part does not diminish our guilt, but - in light of the solidarity from church-leading bodies - the current situation does not warrant my resignation."
The Hannover Church is Germany's largest church with approximately 2.3 million members. Its community spans significant areas of Lower Saxony. Since Wednesday, the Landessynode has convened at the Loccum Monastery near Steinhuder Meer. On Friday morning (June 7), sexualized violence will be discussed at length. At that time, Bishop Meister will deliver his own defense.
Criticism from within the church hierarchy
For the first time, more than 200 staff members from Hannover Church have publicly criticized Bishop Meister and other high-ranking clergy in a collective letter. "This is a collective responsibility, and it must be tackled actively and transparently," the letter asserts, as first reported by the "Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung."
Signatories - predominantly priests and pastors - do not request a resignation but rather a cultural shift in the church. "We would have hoped that Mr. Meister had handled these cases openly from the beginning, openly expressed regret, and shown empathy for the victims," said Susanne Paul, one of the five spokespersons and spokeswomen, in an interview with dpa.
The widespread grief, rage, and disillusionment over how the victims' suffering was treated impacts far beyond the church leadership, claimed spokeswoman Ina Jäckel.
The letter is a testament to the profound anxiety among professional and volunteer workers, Bishop Meister noted. "We acknowledge that in the past, serious mistakes were made. That's why we've been establishing more positions for prevention and processing, creating safety plans in every church district, and integrating them into our operations."
Bishop admits personal mistakes
In March, the bishop acknowledged personal shortcomings in addressing victims but expressed no intentions of resignation at the time. The 62-year-old theologian responded to the report of an independent investigation committee on child abuse in the King-Christus community in Oesede, a district in the Osnabrück area, three months ago.
Meister said he had concluded that, after reflection and contemplation, he should remain in his post, despite his past missteps. If the professional and volunteer representatives of the church indicate that "my presence could pose a major risk to the church's credibility," that would represent a fresh scenario for me.
Survivors abandoned by the church
According to the authors of the Forum Study in February, the evangelical church and diaconate as a whole demonstrated significant flaws in handling sexualized violence cases. The independent investigation cited victims of sexualized violence being left unsupported within the church.
Over 2225 victims and 1259 suspected offenders were logged, with the report considering this figure "just the tip of the iceberg."
In the Oesede case, a deceased deacon from the community is accused of sexually assaulting at least eight children. Oesede is a district of Georgsmarienhütte in the Osnabrück region.
The investigation commission revealed that the church authorities in Oesede concealed the accused deacon's actions in the 1970s. The commission also highlighted "serious shortcomings" in the processing by the Church Administration Hannover from 2011 onward.
Region:
Germany
