Traunstein - Abuse trial: Plaintiff to be heard in person
In the civil proceedings against the Archdiocese of Munich for compensation for pain and suffering and damages for a victim of abuse, the plaintiff is to be heard in person next week. An expert witness and four witnesses have also been summoned to the hearing on January 10, the Traunstein District Court announced.
The judges had ordered a psychiatric report to be obtained in mid-July. This is to discuss the question of "whether the abuse suffered by the plaintiff was the cause of a mental disorder in the plaintiff and his alcohol and drug addiction". However, it is unclear whether the expert opinion will already be available on January 10.
The plaintiff, a former altar boy, claims to have been sexually abused once by a priest in Garching an der Alz in the mid-1990s. In the civil proceedings, he is demanding at least 300,000 euros in compensation from the archdiocese.
The case made headlines across Germany primarily because the defendants originally included Pope Benedict XVI, who has since died. As the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he was Archbishop of Munich and Freising when the priest in question was transferred to his diocese. However, the proceedings against him were severed because after his death it is still unclear who will be his legal successor and thus, to a certain extent, inherit the proceedings.
Therefore, the proceedings remain suspended in this context, the district court explained. The hearing on January 10 will only take place in relation to the other defendants.
The archdiocese, through its lawyer, had already generally accepted at the start of the trial that the plaintiff was entitled to compensation, but did not commit to a specific sum. The lawyer requested that the claim for damages for pain and suffering be dismissed in the amount claimed. Instead, the court should make its own assessment of the amount.
The continuation of the trial was postponed several times. The trial had begun on June 20, the second day of the trial was originally scheduled for September 12 and then initially postponed to November 2; it was then postponed again.
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- The abuse process against the priest, who was transferred to the Diocese of Munich and Freising during Archbishop Ratzinger's tenure, is part of the broader civil proceedings occurring in the Traunstein District Court.
- In addition to the plaintiff, an expert witness and four witnesses have been called for the compensation for pain and suffering and damages trial, which is scheduled for January 10.
- The plaintiff, a former altar boy, alleges he was sexually abused by the priest in Garching an der Alz and is seeking at least 300,000 euros in compensation from the Archdiocese of Munich.
- Criminality within the church continues to be under scrutiny with this case, as it initially involved Pope Benedict XVI in the civil proceedings, although the proceedings against him have been severed due to his death.
- The Bavarian archdiocese, while acknowledging the plaintiff's entitlement to compensation, refused to commit to a specific sum and requested the court to make its own assessment for the claim for damages for pain and suffering.
Source: www.stern.de
