The case of an alleged pedophile Catholic priest in the Regensburg diocese is one of the darkest chapters in the history of the Catholic Church in Germany. Now it is certain: The clergyman must answer to the court in the summer. Already he has announced a confession.
The priest from the diocese of Regensburg (39) must stand trial on charges of repeated child abuse. His lawyer announced a confession to the Catholic News Agency (KNA) on Monday. He said he hoped for a short trial in terms of time. According to the Nuremberg judicial press office, charges are expected to be filed in the next few days. The trial will take place "in the course of the summer" at the Regensburg Regional Court. The priest, who already has a criminal record, has been in custody for five months.
Nationwide headline According to media reports, the priest is accused of molesting a 13-year-old altar boy a total of 20 times between 2004 and 2007. The case caused headlines across Germany after it came to light last summer. The diocese of Regensburg again expressed its deepest regret and promised pastoral and therapeutic assistance to the victim and his family. Such assaults radically contradict the priestly ethos. The clergyman has since apologized in writing to Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller for his actions and wants to bear sole responsibility for them, he said. Bishop Muller himself rejected personal consequences from the case or an apology for any failings in response to repeated inquiries. "The responsibility for the act lies with the perpetrator," he said at the time.
Renewed commitment after suspended sentence The priest had been sentenced to probation for a one-time sexual abuse of a boy in Viechtach in 1999. In 2004, the diocese reinstated him as a parish chaplain in another parish after he complied with all court requirements. The diocese management relied on a declaration of no objection from the therapist who had treated the perpetrator for four years.According to the diocesan leadership, they amed that the priest was not a pedophile fixation. Therefore the superiors decided not to apply the guidelines of the German Bishops' Conference in this case. These provide that a convicted priest should no longer be used in fields where he comes into contact with children. According to information from the "Suddeutsche Zeitung", the public prosecutor's office has a contrary expert opinion, which certifies that the defendant has a "homoerotic core pedophilia".