Local Bishop - Meister identifies errors in handling sexualized aggression.
Following recent backlash over the way sexual violence cases were dealt with, Bishop Ralf Meister of Hanover admitted fault. "We acknowledge that errors occurred in the past," said the Bishop in a declaration.
On Wednesday, the Evangelical Lutheran Church acknowledged awareness of an open letter written by survivors of sexualized violence. The letter called for Meister's resignation. Earlier, newspapers like "Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung" and "Weser-Kurier" reported on this matter.
The Church highlighted that major updates were made last month after a press release concerning a study about sexual violence in Oesede church community within the Osnabrück district. These changes aimed to tackle valid doubts. For instance, a restructuring of administration roles within the Church occurred, and the department in charge would get more staff. The procedures were to be frequently scrutinized.
In late January, the first thorough investigation regarding sexualized violence within the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) and the Diakonie was made public. This study recorded over 2225 victims and 1259 suspected offenders.
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In response to the open letter from survivors of sexualized violence, Lower Saxony's Evangelical Lutheran Church agreed to recondition their administration roles, appointing more staff to the department handling such cases. Bishop Ralf Meister, based in Hanover, acknowledged that the Church had erred in handling past cases of crime related to sexual aggression.
