Georg ratzinger: did not know about sexual abuse

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Georg ratzinger: did not know about sexual abuse

Regensburg Cathedral Boys' Choir © dpa

George Ratzinger © KNA

Georg Ratzinger, brother of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI., By his own admission, had no knowledge of sexual abuse cases at Regensburg Cathedral Boys' Choir. He told the "Passauer Neue Presse" that

With regard to the beating accusations, the 91-year-old pointed out that beatings and slaps were "common in all areas of education as well as in families" at that time. "With the Domspatzen, they had no other significance than in the areas mentioned as well," said Georg Ratzinger, who directed the world-famous boys' choir from 1964 to 1994.

The lawyer commissioned by the diocese of Regensburg, Ulrich Weber, had given an interim report on the allegations of beating and abuse on Friday. He spoke of at least 231 cases of physical violence; according to the report, 62 cases involved sexual assault "ranging from fondling to rape". Weber estimates that of the 2.100 children in the preschool of the choir in Etterzhausen and Pielenhofen were beaten by about a third between 1953 and 1992.

Attorney Weber: "gross disproportionality"

The lawyer left no doubt that, in his opinion, Ratzinger was also aware of the chastisements. He had learned of violence in the preschool at least in 1987. Weber also stressed that even if the beating is seen in the temporal context of education at the time, it shows a "gross disproportionality".

In the interview, Ratzinger admitted to having known about regular and "very severe" slaps by longtime preschool director Johann Meier. However, he had never observed Meier "beating a boy under the table" and had never seen any traces of injuries on any of the students. Meier had taken early retirement in 1992 after criticism of what Ratzinger called his "harsh pedagogical methods".

Ratzinger: No "system of fear"

The long-time choirmaster also contradicted Weber's assessment that a "system of fear" had prevailed at the Domspatzen. "This is not the truth," he told the newspaper. From meetings with former Domspatzen he sees "that the years in the choir were for them, in addition to all the hardships that are part of any education, a time of inner formation and maturation, for which they are grateful to this day".

One would not "return in this way" to a place of fear and violence, Ratzinger says.

Women continue to make headway in the Bundeswehr. The number of female soldiers in the armed forces has more than tripled since 2001. Around 17,000, or about nine percent, of all professional and temporary soldiers are women. Over 2500 women are represented in officer careers. Women now study almost all subjects at the two Bundeswehr universities.

As the Defense Ministry further announced in Berlin on Monday, 40 percent of the female soldiers belong to the medical service, 22 percent to the armed forces base, 20 percent to the army. 11 percent serve in the air force and 7 percent in the navy. There are currently more than 380 female soldiers on foreign deployments. The first of the female soldiers recruited as of 2001 take up leadership roles as company commanders or company sergeants. Guttenberg satisfied Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (CSU) says he is very satisfied. "I am pleased that women are now the norm in the Bundeswehr," Guttenberg emphasized. The goal is to have 15 percent women in general careers and 50 percent in medical service careers.The former head of the Bundeswehr Georg Leber (SPD) had opened in 1975 the medical and music service for the women on a voluntary basis. But they were not allowed to serve with weapons in hand in combat units until 1. January 2001 start. ECJ cleared the way It was not until the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) of 11. January 2000 marked the turning point in the history of the Bundeswehr, paving the way for women to enter all military careers. The ECJ president announced at the time that Germany, too, must open up service at arms to women in its armed forces.At the time, this possibility had been fought for by Tanja Kreil, an electronics technician. She went to court and "defeated" the last bastion of men, which provided for service in combat units exclusively for the male sex. The women's associations cheered and pointed out that the opinion that women are exclusively responsible for the three "C's" – children, kitchen, church – belongs to the "old iron". Only in the ranks of the fighters of the "Kommandos Spezialkrafte" (KSK) no woman has made it yet. Only two female generals So far, only two women have risen to the rank of general in the armed forces. After Verena von Weymarn, who retired in 2004, Erika Franke became the second female Surgeon General with the golden epaulets.With practiced female hands, the combat aircraft "Tornado," "Transall" transport planes and military helicopters are already being flown. Female tank commanders pilot the "Leopard" heavy battle tank and the "Buffel" armored recovery vehicle. Psychologists have supported the thesis put forward by then Defense Minister Peter Struck (SPD) that more women would "do the Bundeswehr good". In the U.S., the most female soldiers The percentage of women in the world's armies varies. It ranges from less than one percent to 15 percent in the United States. American women who joined the armed forces celebrated their triumph in 1976. Military academies at West Point (Army), Annapolis (Navy) and Colorado Springs (Air Force) opened to female combatants. Scientific research shows that while men are superior to women on average in physical strength, women could usually outperform men in operations that require greater manual dexterity or persistent concentration.

As a ten-year-old, Josef Haslinger was sexually abused by fathers at the Zwettl Boys' Choir Convent. In his new book, "My Case," the author tells his story. A visit to a reading in Cologne's Church St. Agnes.

Very calmly he tells, unexcited, with a low voice in the church St. Agnes in Cologne. The matter-of-factness contradicts what he tells. Josef Haslinger was sexually abused in his childhood by Catholic religious priests. He tells of the massive emotional shocks he suffered. The unagitated, almost matter-of-fact tone gives the narrative a shattering depth. The 120 listeners in the church peer into an abyss of sadistic torment and sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, which the author suffered as a convent student at the Zwettl Boys' Choir Convent in Austria.

The perpetrator profile: The nice Father Gottfried

The religion teacher, Father Gottfried, was an exception, he had understanding for the suffering and loneliness of the beaten children, Haslinger says, he trusted him. But Father Gottfried, a friend of the parents, was one of the fathers in the monastery who took advantage of the children's distress. He sexually abused her. The bond with the perpetrators, who embodied the system of love rather than the system of violence, was all the stronger, says Haslinger. "This is fatal because Father Gottfried, as the perpetrator, has been the only contact we have had". He treated her like a toy.

The powerlessness of a child

Until the death of Father Gottfried, the former monastic Haslinger was unable to make the name of the perpetrators public. He was so deeply entangled inside that he performed something like an identification with the perpetrator, the author says. "As long as they were alive, I showed consideration for them. I didn't want to spoil their old age". Haslinger has long tried to play down the trauma of his own abuse by convincing himself that he himself had participated in it. He did not want to admit the powerlessness of a ten-year-old child in the face of a 30-year-old man. He had suppressed the lifelong fears and grievances. He could not face them. "When I learned that the main perpetrator had died, it was as if someone had flipped a switch in me. That was a liberating feeling, because I thought, now I can also say it".

'My case', a literary testimony

The book "My Case" is a literary testimony. Alongside the experiences of his childhood are the experiences Haslinger later had when he decided to tell his story to the Klasnic Commission set up by the Church in Austria to come to terms with sexual abuse. He was sent back and forth, three times he had to describe his experiences in detail, only to be told, as a bizarre punch line to the torturous procedure, that as a writer he should write everything down himself. Haslinger decided not to comply with this request. He wrote a letter to those in charge to explain his decision. The letter then became the book "My Case".

Clarification is urgently needed

Haslinger says, for him it would be the greatest compensation, if the church would finally consequently work up the abuse in the convict Zwettl. But there is no effort so far, he says. In all the years until today, none of the responsible clergy had approached him to apologize personally. Abuse of untold numbers of children, he said, was a powerful sin perpetrated for decades, perhaps centuries. "If the church succeeded in confronting this sin, it might be more able to turn back to the future," he says.

A religious phantom pain

Haslinger himself has left the church. He has lost his faith in the Catholic Church, he can no longer trust the religious institution. "How does one feel this transcendental emptiness?" he wonders. "If you wipe away the whole religious edifice, what God has represented. The questions, which were connected with it and for which there was this faith, did not disappear thereby. Where do we come from? Where are we going? The answers have all been wiped away," Haslinger tells Church St. Agnes. "I have the feeling that there is a liturgical phantom pain in me. I have to endure it just".

After ninety concentrated minutes of reading and discussion, there is long applause from the audience. Peter Otten, pastoral counselor in St. Agnes, thanks Josef Haslinger and emphasizes how important it is for the church to expose itself to these harrowing testimonies. A church is the right place to let the victims speak and to listen to them. After the reading there will be wine and bread and many conversations with the author – this will also take place in the church.

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