Several billion dollars in compensation?

adminonNovember 15, 2021January 5, 2022Leave a Comment

Several billion dollars in compensation?

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Seven New York abuse victims have filed a class action lawsuit against the Vatican in Manhattan federal court. The Holy See was negligent in keeping information secret by priests, he said.

This is reported by several US media. The lawsuit filed Tuesday (local time) says the Holy See has been negligent in instructing its bishops around the world to cover up cases of sexual abuse by clergy, according to the tabloid New York Post.

Compensation in the billions

According to the report, the victims are being represented by Jeff Herman, a specialist in abuse claims. According to Herman, a successful lawsuit could cost the Vatican billions of dollars in compensation. "We now know that according to Holy See guidelines, bishops were instructed to keep information about sexually abused children by priests secret," Herman explained.

On Tuesday, Pope Francis had lifted the so-called papal secret for the prosecution of crimes of abuse. This means, among other things, that victims may no longer be bound to secrecy. It will also facilitate cooperation between the ecclesiastical and secular justice systems in the future. Confessional secrecy remains strictly protected. The new Instruction enters into force immediately.

New York state child protection law

The class action was made possible by a New York State child protection law passed in August that lifts the current twelve-month statute of limitations. Victims of clergy sexual abuse can thus temporarily pursue legal claims that are decades old. U.S. media quote University of Pennsylvania lawyer Marci Hamilton as saying lawsuits against a sovereign state are difficult and always "a shot in the dark".

After the report on sexual abuse by pastors, the Archdiocese of Berlin wants to examine how personnel managers deal with the cases. A commission set up for this purpose would be "completely free" in its work.

The Berlin Archbishop Heiner Koch affirmed this on Wednesday in an interview of the portal catholic.de.

The head of administration of the archdiocese, Vicar General Manfred Kollig, admitted in the interview that it is not yet clear "when the first results will be available and can be communicated publicly". The Berlin diocesan chairwoman of the Catholic German Women's Federation (KDFB), Barbara John, criticized that the report had not been used as an opportunity for a turning point in "how the Archdiocese of Berlin deals with those affected, with perpetrators, and with those responsible who remain silent.".

The archdiocese had partially published the expert opinion commissioned from the law firm Redeker Sellner Dahs last Friday. Not published were the largest part with information about 61 accused and statements about it – among others from the former archbishop, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, his successor Koch as well as the emeritus auxiliary bishop Wolfgang Weider and the acting auxiliary bishop Matthias Heinrich. This part of the study is now to be evaluated by a commission consisting of three representatives each of the Diocesan Council of Catholics and the Priests' Council.

Consensus would not have to be in the end

Koch explained that only after the analysis by the commission would the consequences be made public. "In the end, we do not have to be of one opinion and certainly not of my opinion," the archbishop emphasized with regard to the commission.

"If we can't agree, we also present different positions transparently."On the question of why he had not named specific names of those responsible – like Aachen Bishop Helmut Dieser his predecessor Heinrich Mussinghoff – Koch said, "There was a different commission in Aachen, and there is accordingly a different expert opinion."

Kollig also said he must continue to "ask for patience". There is still no disciplinary law in the Catholic Church. Therefore, he said, the archdiocese itself must establish standards for misconduct and the level of punishment. Which concrete responsibility the superiors of abuse offenders in the individual cases would have, is now evaluated. "The fact that people interpret this kind of diligence to us as a delaying tactic is something we can't influence," said Vicar General.

Koch and Kollig also commented on the case of a priest who had spent the night in a room with a communion child at a recreational event in 2013. "It makes me speechless that something like this is not considered completely out of the question," the archbishop said. The vicar general added that the case shows that despite prevention training, not all church employees are "sufficiently sensitized" yet.

The lay representation in the Archdiocese of Cologne suspends its cooperation with the diocese leadership around Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki. This was decided by the Diocesan Council at its plenary meeting on Thursday evening.

After the "unresolved abuse processing" the "basis for trust and credibility must first be re-established". In another resolution, the panel called on former and active members of diocesan leadership to name breaches of duty in dealing with abuse cases, regardless of legal opinions.

The ten representatives of the Diocesan Council in the archbishop's highest advisory body, the Diocesan Pastoral Council, are suspending their participation in the realignment of the archdiocese, it was reported. For these deliberations, he said, there is currently "no sufficient acceptance". Specifically, the plan here is to form about 50 to 60 large parishes out of the archdiocese's current 180 pastoral areas, with their total of about 500 mostly smaller parishes. This has met with criticism from the church base, which is why alternatives are being considered.

Publication of expert opinion demanded

Further the Diozesanrat demands the publication of the expert's assessment of the Munich Kanzlei Westpfahl Spilker Wastl (WSW) kept under lock and key by the archdiocese over misconduct of high-level personnel when handling cases of sexualisierter force. "Full transparency and disclosure of all facts is the minimum requirement for clarification and reappraisal," the resolution says.

Woelki should accept the offer of the law firm WSW to publish its expert opinion at his own risk, she said. The archbishop rejects this, pointing to "methodological deficiencies" and the possible violation of personal rights. It had commissioned a new expert opinion, the results of which are to be presented in March.

The chairman of the Diocesan Council, Tim Kurzbach, accuses the archbishop of having failed as a moral authority. "We are in the midst of the greatest church crisis that any of us have ever experienced."

Reaction of auxiliary bishop Ansgar Puff

Responding to the Diocesan Council's resolutions on behalf of the diocesan leadership was Cologne's Auxiliary Bishop Ansgar Puff, who is also a member of the body's executive committee. He pointed out that Woelki, the auxiliary bishops and the vicar general had daily conversations with pastoral workers to provide opportunities to "express frustrations". As far as Corona makes it possible, "we want to continue working in this direction in the coming months".

Furthermore, the statement of the Diocesan Council showed that Woelki's decision of mid-January had been correct to continue the consultations on the diocesan reform in June at the earliest. More time is needed for the ie. By the summer, the archdiocese would give priority to dealing with the results of the abuse report expected in March.

Andreas Otto

Commenting on the conflict and the meeting of the DIocesan Council, this site said.DE also the Diocesan Council President Tim Kurzbach and Auxiliary Bishop Ansgar Puff.

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