Law firm rejects criticism

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A new round in the dispute over an abuse report for the Archdiocese of Cologne: the Munich law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl is pressing for publication of its study, while the Archdiocese of Cologne is sticking to its "no".

WSW on Friday again rejected the criticism of the archbishopric and offered to publish the investigation exclusively on its own homepage. The archdiocese of Cologne would not incur any liability risks as a result: "We bear sole and full responsibility for this."

The archdiocese rejected this strictly. The WSW report on possible misconduct by diocesan officials in dealing with cases of sexualized violence has methodological flaws and is unlawful, a spokeswoman said in response to a question. Therefore, the archdiocese could not agree to a publication.

WSW accuses criminal lawyer Jahn of methodological deficiencies

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne had commissioned the report from WSW, but did not allow it to be published as initially planned. For the reason the archbishopric cites above all a 22-page expert opinion of the Frankfurt criminal lawyer Matthias Jahn, which certifies WSW among other things methodological deficiencies. Woelki therefore commissioned a new expert, Cologne criminal law expert Bjorn Gercke, to present his findings by 18. March is to present. This decision is criticized from many sides, in part strongly.

WSW, for its part, accused Jahn of methodological shortcomings and regretted that it had not been able to comment on his criticism either before publishing his objections in the fall or during subsequent presentations. Jahn accuses the Munich office, among other things, of having picked out only 15 allegedly serious cases from the 189 personnel files evaluated, which would not do justice to many victims. Mentioning the names of responsible persons in the case of deficiencies could also lead to civil lawsuits.

Cologne criminal law expert criticizes WSW expert opinion

WSW defended approach of limiting itself to only 15 cases. This takes into account the legitimate interest of those affected by sexual violence not to be exposed to the danger of further retraumatization. The Jahn expert opinion also does not take into account the right of possible perpetrators to "forget their deeds" as well as the necessary protection of subordinate employees of the archdiocese, whose personal rights would be violated by a public naming. In addition, WSW had comprehensively examined and evaluated not only the selected 15, but all cases handed over.

Gercke, the Cologne criminal law expert commissioned with the new investigation, had also criticized the WSW report. There are "alleged accusations with strong words, without bringing evidence". The selection of the examples was arbitrary. He announced that his team would evaluate every single one of the 312 suspected cases in total. The results of the investigation would become "uncomfortable" for the archdiocese.

Catholic bishops and laity continue their synodal journey on the future of the church this Friday. The focus of the synodal assembly in Frankfurt, which runs until Saturday, is on setting the course for the continuation of the debates.

At the beginning of the second day of the synodal assembly, the Jesuit Bernd Hagenkord called on Catholic bishops and lay people to courage and confidence in the reform dialogue Synodal Way. With trust in God and openness in dialogue, it could be possible to overcome the crisis in the church, said Hagenkord on Friday morning at a service in Frankfurt Cathedral.

The 51-year-old religious is spiritual director of the Synodal Way

The evening before, the first synodal assembly had been opened in the cathedral, also with a church service. It consists of 230 members and is the highest body of the Synodal Way. Six members of the synodal assembly, among them Bishop Stefan Oster of Passau, then gave personal accounts of their approaches to faith and the church. The evening ended with a meal and social gathering at the Romer in Frankfurt.

Rules of procedure and composition of four forums

Today, Friday, the synodal assembly will, among other things, adopt rules of procedure and discuss the composition of four forums. They are to do the groundwork on the central themes of the Synodal Way: sexual morality, the priestly way of life, power and the division of powers, and the role of women in the church.

The initiative, launched by the German Bishops' Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), is intended, among other things, to regain lost trust following the abuse scandal. It is so far unique in this form in the Catholic Church. The first synodal meeting lasts until Saturday.

Former diocese leadership to be questioned

The processing of abuse cases in the Catholic church of Mecklenburg progresses. Investigators plan to question former diocese leaders this year.

An employee of the University of Ulm has begun to sift through the personnel files of about 200 Catholic priests who worked in the region between 1945 and 1989, without suspicion, as the Archdiocese of Hamburg announced Thursday. In addition, seven interviews with those affected have been arranged so far. The former diocese management is to be questioned before the end of this year, it was said after a meeting of the advisory board accompanying the project on Thursday in Schwerin.

Reappraisal in the Catholic Church in Mecklenburg

Archbishop Stefan Hebe had set up the committee in 2018 to deal with sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Mecklenburg. The advisory board commissioned scientists from the University of Ulm with a two-year research project. The reappraisal, led by psychiatrist Manuela Dudeck, covers the period from 1945 to 1989.

Because Dudeck received the research assignment, she resigned from the accompanying advisory board, as the archdiocese further announced. Its successor is Carsten Spitzer, director of the Clinic for Psychosomatics and Psychotherapeutic Medicine in Rostock.

Particularly many cases of abuse in the region

The abuse study published in 2018 by the German Bishops' Conference had registered a particularly large number of cases of sexual violence in the Mecklenburg part of the archdiocese of Hamburg. According to the study, 17 priests are known to have committed acts of abuse against 54 children and young people. One of the main suspects is priest Hermann-Josef Timmerbeil, who died in 1979 and led the parish of Neubrandenburg between 1946 and 1975.

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