Abuse scandal in the church © dpa
Bishop Norbert Trelle © Harald Oppitz (KNA)
The diocese of Hildesheim now also wants to have the abuse allegations against the late Hildesheim Bishop Heinrich Maria Janssen processed by an independent expert.
This was explained by the diocese on Thursday at the request of the Catholic News Agency (KNA). At the end of January, the diocese had already declared that it would have the abuse by former priest and convicted abuser Peter R. to be investigated by an independent expert. According to the diocese, it has not yet been determined who will take over the clarification work.
The Federal Government Commissioner for Abuse, Johannes-Wilhelm Rorig, had recommended that the diocese appoint an independent investigator to clear up cases of sexual abuse. Victims only came forward if they "have confidence in the institution". This the diocese had not been able to build up so far apparently.
Reproach against former bishop of Hildesheim
The Hildesheim bishop Heinrich Maria Janssen, who died in 1988, is accused of having sexually abused a boy during his first years in office from 1958 to 1963. According to "Spiegel," the person involved stated that the bishop had regularly abused him through masturbation, oral and anal sex.
The diocese made public the allegations against Janssen dating back to spring 2015, when "Der Spiegel" magazine reported on them in November. Associations of those affected then accused the diocese of a lack of transparency. The latter, on the other hand, explained that the victim himself had asked for secrecy.
Diocese rejected accusation of prejudice
The diocese also rejected the public accusation of prejudging the late bishop. "We have recognized in a pastoral way the suffering of the person concerned, and have therefore given him 10.000 euros to help. But this must not be understood as a confirmation of the course of events," explained Auxiliary Bishop Heinz-Gunter Bongartz.
The abuse case of the former priest and convicted abuser Peter R. had caused a nationwide stir at the end of last year through a WDR report. The priest is said to have abused at least 100 children at the Canisius College in Berlin in the 1970s and 1980s. The accusations of a young woman from the diocese of Hildesheim that the man had also harassed her as a child were not followed up consistently enough by the diocese in 2010. In early 2016, the girl's mother also spoke out with similar accusations.