Catholic Church - Bishop: coming to terms with abuse will still take years
The abuse scandal will keep the Catholic Church in Germany busy for years to come. All 27 dioceses are currently undergoing an independent investigation by established commissions: Their intensive investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the 2020s, Bishop Stephan Ackermann of Trier told the German Press Agency. The focus of the investigation is primarily on how those responsible dealt with cases of abuse that became known. The Diocese of Trier expects a final report by 2027 at the latest, said Ackermann.
"Failures will continue to be documented." His time in office will also be examined by the committee. And mistakes had also been made during his term of office, which he had admitted and for which he had asked for an apology. And there were probably omissions from today's perspective that were not seen at the time. "So there may be mistakes that I am not aware of as mistakes." Ackermann has been Bishop of Trier since 2009.
The reports of the Commission for Reappraisal are important: " Reappraisal helps the Church because it leads to more truthfulness. And, above all, because it also gives those affected a certain satisfaction," said Ackermann. They finally felt heard: "Many people think: we weren't believed, now we are being believed."
Ackermann became known nationwide in early 2010 when he was appointed as the German Bishops' Conference's commissioner for sexual abuse issues following the revelation of the abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. He relinquished the office in the fall of 2022.
The independent commission for dealing with sexual abuse in the diocese of Trier has been in office since June 2021 and is made up of those affected and experts. In accordance with the agreement with the Independent Commissioner for Child Sexual Abuse, the investigation will take a total of six years - annual interim reports are planned.
A further interim report of the historical study on the term of office of the former Bishop of Trier Hermann Josef Spital (1981 to 2001) is expected to be published in January 2024. At the end of 2022, a previous report focused on the term of office of former Bishop Bernhard Stein (1967-1980). According to the report, he had been "part of the system" that covered up and protected perpetrators of abuse.
Bishop Ackermann expects that the diocese of Trier will also be faced with claims for damages from victims of abuse. Lawsuits have been announced, but the diocese has not yet received a lawsuit from a court, he said.
In June, the Cologne Regional Court awarded 300,000 euros in compensation to a victim of abuse. The plaintiff had been sexually abused by a priest for many years as an altar boy in the 1970s.
Even after the work of the investigation commission has been completed, the topic of sexual abuse will remain present in the diocese, said Ackermann. Be it because other victims came forward or in the prevention work.
According to the commission's research, acts involving 579 victims and 227 accused persons have been documented in the diocese of Trier for the period from 1946 to 2021. A good 1.2 million Catholics in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland belong to the diocese of Trier.
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- The abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, which involves cases of criminality, has kept Germany's dioceses, including Bishop Stephan Ackermann's bishopric in Trier, under investigation for several years.
- The investigation commissioned by Bishop Ackermann is expected to reveal mistakes made during his tenure, including failures in handling cases of abuse.
- The German Press Agency reported that Bishop Ackermann, who has been in office since 2009, acknowledged his role in the scandal and called for truthfulness and reappraisal within the Church.
- The report on the former Bishop of Trier Hermann Josef Spital (1981 to 2001) is one of several historical studies aimed at understanding the extent of the abuse scandal within the Trier diocese.
- The Diocese of Trier, which serves Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, has faced accusations of covering up and protecting abusers, as highlighted in a report on the term of office of former Bishop Bernhard Stein (1967-1980).
- The German Bishops' Conference appointed Bishop Ackermann as commissioner for sexual abuse issues in 2010, following the scandal revelation, before he relinquished the office in 2022.
- Ackermann also expects that the diocese of Trier will continue to face lawsuits from victims of abuse, as well as carry out prevention work and deal with new cases that come to light.
Source: www.stern.de
