Procedures or Methods - No resolution reached in legal claims related to the diocese.
In three lawsuits related to past abuse under Aachen District Court, there's no agreement for settling between the plaintiffs and the Diocese of Aachen. "No settlement has been reached in any of the cases," the court declared on Wednesday. The court had suggested concluding each case by paying a specific settlement amount. All parties had consented to ponder the suggestion. The court will announce its judgments on July 2nd.
As per the proposition of the 12th Civil Chamber, the Diocese of Aachen should compensate each of the plaintiffs with 110,000 euros, 100,000 euros, and somewhere between 20,000 and 25,000 euros in the individual cases. The three plaintiffs filed lawsuits against the Diocese of Aachen asking for payments in the tens of thousands of euros. All of them had previously obtained funds from the Independent Commission for Recognition Payments of the German Bishops' Conference in various amounts. One plaintiff received 80,000 euros, another 35,000 euros, while the third received 10,000 euros.
The cases date back several decades. One of the cases involved years of sexual abuse of a boy in the 1970s. The 60-year-old plaintiff was present in the hearing held mid-May. Another case entailed a 17-year-old abused in 1990 who couldn't make it to the hearing and whose attorney claimed was severely affected psychologically. The third plaintiff was abused while serving as an altar server. The roughly 200 cases transpired in the 1960s in the parish house, the priest's car, and on vacation trips, the plaintiff narrated.
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- Despite the court's suggestion for settlements in the three civil proceedings related to abuse cases in North Rhine-Westphalia's Aachen Diocese, no agreement has been reached, as declared by the court on Wednesday.
- The comparison of suggested settlement amounts by the 12th Civil Chamber suggests the Diocese of Aachen should pay 110,000 euros, 100,000 euros, and between 20,000 and 25,000 euros in the individual cases, significantly more than the previous compensation amounts received from the Independent Commission for Recognition Payments.
- The processes of these abuse cases, dating back several decades, have been complex, with one case involving years of sexual abuse in the 1970s, another a 17-year-old victim severely affected psychologically in 1990, and the third an altar server victim.
- With no resolution reached in the legal claims, the plaintiffs and the Diocese of Aachen are set to confront one another in the Regional Court of Aachen, where the court will announce its judgments on July 2nd.
- The church's handling of these abuse cases in North Rhine-Westphalia, specifically within the Diocese of Aachen, has sparked concerns and calls for increased transparency and accountability in addressing complaints of abuse and compensating victims.
