After abuse allegations against Father Joseph Kentenich, a new commission is to examine what is true about the accusations. Should the suspicion be confirmed, the beatification of the Schoenstatt founder would probably be invalid.
Why was the founder of the Schoenstatt Movement sent into exile in the USA by the Vatican in 1951?? And why was he allowed to return in 1965? Documents on the background of the exile of Father Joseph Kentenich (1885-1968) are not yet publicly accessible.
The Italian theologian Alexandra von Teuffenbach published a text in which she accuses the founder of the Schoenstatt movement of systematic manipulation of members of the community and sexual abuse of a sister.
Letters and minutes of conversations
A drumbeat for the worldwide spiritual community, in which until today much revolves around the charismatic founder, who is often also referred to as Father.
According to von Teuffenbach, this is based on documents from the Vatican archives from the time of the pontificate of Pope Pius XII. (1939-1958) released since March. Among them are letters and minutes of conversations with Sisters, which were written in the context of an examination of the Schoenstatt Work by the Vatican.
Visitations with consequences
On behalf of the Vatican, first the then Auxiliary Bishop of Trier, Bernhard Stein, and then the Dutch Jesuit Sebastian Tromp visited Schoenstatt at the end of the 1940s. They were to examine the work of Father Kentenich and his position within the community of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary. Kentenich was then sent into exile in the USA in 1951. In 1965, at the age of 80, he was able to return to Schoenstatt.
Sources and evidence of the reasons for the exile are not yet public. It is also questionable whether the reasons for the exile were explicitly named by the Vatican.
Psychological prere and humiliations
Von Teuffenbach argues that Kentenich was sent into exile because of manipulative dealings with the sisters and the abuse of a sister – even if the Vatican justified it differently in order to protect the women.
In concrete terms, von Teuffenbach writes of "helpless adult women" who were degraded to children by "Father" Kentenich. He had controlled every detail of their lives, put them under psychological prere and forced them to confess to himself. The historian notes from the files that there had also been "sexual misconduct". One of the women had tried to defend herself against it. Nevertheless, the events had remained a "family secret of the Sisters of Mary".
Vatican justifications are missing
The Schoenstatters, for their part, emphasize that the reason for the exile was the Vatican's ecclesiastical doubts about the movement as such. In the decrees from Rome there are only the regulations, but no reasons.
Accordingly, they also interpret Kentenich's return differently. In the opinion of the Schoenstatt Movement, Kentenich was rehabilitated with his return to Germany. There is no official decision of the Vatican on this matter. However, this is not usual at the end of such a procedure, according to a statement of the Schoenstatt Work. Rather, Kentenich was rehabilitated by "concrete facts" in that he was allowed to return to Germany via Rome without the Church having prevented him from doing so.
Accusations invalidated?
Church historian von Teuffenbach doubts this account and points out that she has not found in any file a decree annulling Kentenich's banishment. Also, no reasons were ever given why Kentenich could return from exile. The diocese of Trier, in turn, stated that the decisions of the Holy Office – as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was called at the time – against Kentenich were rescinded in October 1965.
The Schoenstatt Work initially reacted defensively to the accusations:
The accusations are already known and have been refuted, they said in a first reaction. And further: The Vatican would certainly not have agreed to the beatification procedure for Kentenich if there had been further doubts about the person.
Church historian: Nihil obstat is based on Schoenstatters
Von Teuffenbach, however, is not convinced by this objection. According to her account, the declaration of no objection – the so-called nihil obstat – was pronounced solely on the basis of the information presented by Schoenstatt, but without knowledge of all the files on Kentenich.
In addition, the Schoenstatt Work published several texts on its website, for example, by Father Eduardo Aguirre, who is responsible for Kentenich's beatification proceedings, or by the historian Sister Doria Schlickmann, who take a position for Kentenich. The Secular Institute of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary also said that the knowledge of accusations against Kentenich, even from within their own ranks, is "part of the general knowledge of our history.".
Criticism from their own ranks
In the meantime, members from all over the world spoke out in a very open debate on the website of the international Schoenstatt Movement. They were disappointed with the first reaction of the Schoenstatt Work and demanded more transparency and information about their founder.
For example, Ignacio Serrano del Pozo, a professor of philosophy in Chile, wrote that the declarations of the General Presidium were heading "toward a false door of escape. Declaring the accusations as known leads on a false trail, because only a "very limited elite" knew about it, he criticized.
Beatification process gets new impetus
In the meantime, the president of the international Schoenstatt Work, Juan Pablo Catoggio, acknowledged mistakes in a letter to the members: "We recognize that we have withheld some things for too long out of consideration and for the protection of persons and communities," it reads. The history of Kentenich, the Sisters and the Movement should be dealt with in a more "open and transparent" way: "We understand that the Schoenstatt Family throughout the world expects from us initiatives that respond to the many legitimate questions, irritations and demands for transparency."
A reappraisal is also to take place officially at the church level: A beatification process for Kentenich has been underway since 1975 and, according to the diocese of Trier, has not yet been completed at the diocesan level. Bishop Stephan Ackermann has now announced that a second commission of historians will be set up. It is to examine the newly accessible documents from the Vatican archives: "If this material would prove that a moral integrity of the candidate would not be given, then the beatification procedure would have to be stopped," according to the diocese. When with new publications and further realizations is to be counted, is not to be foreseen so far however.