“Guilt loaded on me”

adminonDecember 17, 2021January 5, 2022Leave a Comment

Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck © Harald Oppitz (KNA)

Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen has admitted mistakes in dealing with a priest twice convicted of abuse. "I have brought guilt upon myself," he now told the current "Time" supplement "Christ World".

When he learned about the case shortly after taking office in Essen at the beginning of 2010, he did not ask to see the personnel file. "Otherwise I might have seen the dimension of the case," the Ruhr bishop said. However, he ruled out a resignation because of this mistake.

Expert opinion to be published

The case of the now 87-year-old priest A. Had caused fierce criticism at the end of 2019. Despite the two convictions, he worked as a pastor in three dioceses, from 2002 as a retired chaplain in the Essen diocese. The participating dioceses of Cologne, Munster and Essen have commissioned investigations into the case. The expert opinion commissioned by the diocese of Essen is to be published on Wednesday.

The priest of the Archdiocese of Cologne had served in Cologne since 1960 and then in Essen-Kettwig, which is part of the archdiocese, before he was sentenced to prison in 1972 for "continued fornication with children and addicts". He then served in the diocese of Munster from 1973 until 1988, when he received a suspended sentence for sexual acts with minors.

In 1989, A. returned to Cologne as a nursing home chaplain. As a retired chaplain, he was then in Bochum-Wattenscheid in the Essen diocese from 2002 to 2015. Only in 2019 the Cardinal of Cologne Rainer Maria Woelki banned him from priestly services. Meanwhile, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican has begun an ecclesiastical criminal trial against the clergyman, who now lives in a nursing home.

Overbeck rules out resignation

According to Overbeck, no further acts have so far been reported by A. from his time in the Essen diocese became known. But it had been a mistake not to have prevented its use. He had "not properly perceived" his responsibility at the beginning of his time as bishop in Essen. He ruled out a resignation because of this.

"For me, taking responsibility means learning. I consider this appropriate in this case." However, there may be other cases, Overbeck said, "where I might have to set a different tone".

The bishop defended that the expert opinion on the handling of the case by the diocese of Essen had been inaccurate. will not name anyone responsible. "Those responsible in recent years can all know," said the bishop. 'Just knowing who did it doesn't help, though'."

What matters most, he said, is what present and future actions most serve to take responsibility for victims and remove perpetrators from ministry forever. In the case A. At least eleven bishops had been involved over the years, two of them during their time as former personnel managers.

From small aid agency to global advocate for children

On 11. May 1959, the Children's Fund was founded and started with five sponsorships in India. The Christian charity has supported more than seven million children and young people in the 60 years since – and is now celebrating an anniversary.

When Kenyan rapper Peter Mweke performs his songs, he also shares stories from his own life: How he ended up on the streets of Nairobi at the age of five, stealing and sniffing glue, or how, at twelve, he was sent to prison for three years. Then the turning point: The social worker of a church center supported by Kindernothilfe takes him in. He goes to school, learns to play the guitar and writes his own lyrics.

Today, the 25-year-old can make a living from his music and supports other children so that they don't end up on the streets, the "hell on earth". Mweke's experience is one of many success stories made possible by Kindernothilfe's global commitment. 60 years ago, on 11. May 1959, the idea of sponsorships for needy children in other countries was born, which eventually led to the founding of the Christian relief organization.

Work in 33 countries

Today, Kindernothilfe works with nearly 400 organizations in 33 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe to support girls and boys on their way to a self-determined life. In the 60 years of its existence, it says it has supported around 7.1 million children and young people in 5.300 projects by local partners. Currently, it serves 1.9 million children in nearly 700 projects. Behind the numbers are moving individual fates.

The spectrum of aid ranges from school attendance to nutrition and health in villages and poor neighborhoods to protection against violence, exploitation and sexual abuse. The aid organization also provides humanitarian support in the event of earthquakes or floods. "For me, every child has a right as God's child to grow up in stable and protected conditions," says Kindernothilfe director Katrin Weidemann. "This is what we stand up for."

In 2017, the charity collected a good 68 million euros from donations, sponsorships and other contributions. Of this, almost 83 percent went directly into projects and a good 17 percent into advertising and administration. Its serious financial management has earned Kindernothilfe a reputation as a "relief organization with glass pockets"; since 1992, it has received the coveted seal of approval from the Central Institute for Social Ies every year.

Continuity and growth were only possible because the work was always being developed further. The concrete help began in 1959, when committed Christians set up the first five sponsorships in a Duisburg living room to finance a place in a dormitory for poor children in India. "What I did was intended for me by God," says one of the founding fathers, 92-year-old Luder Luers.

At that time he gave up his horticultural business and went to India. Today, he is pleased that many of the children he once sponsored have become doctors, teachers or lawyers and are now taking responsibility for other children themselves. "This multiplies the aid," says Luers.

Sponsorships come under fire

Of all things, sponsorships, the heart of aid work, came under criticism in the 1980s: in the left-wing development scene, they were considered "paternalistic" and outdated. When the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted in 1989, Kindernothilfe broadened its spectrum and, in the 1990s, transformed itself into a children's rights organization by building up lobbying and advocacy work, seeing itself as an "advocate for children" at all levels.

"Children should not just be a target group, but actors who help develop projects themselves," says board chairwoman Weidemann. In 2017, for example, the aid organization asked in a campaign with other organizations 2.000 working children worldwide, how they themselves see their lives and what should change.

"Children's rights must not remain dreams" is the motto of the anniversary year. In addition to stakeholder participation, Kindernothilfe also relies on self-help groups to fight poverty.

Women learn to generate their own income by saving up microloans themselves, for example by baking bread or raising chickens. They thus improve the life of the whole family and also the village community.

Bible opened in a pew © mojekadry (shutterstock)

The outlook on the "new" church year begins where the review of the old one ends: with Corona. The pandemic determines the everyday life of the people. And also has a firm grip on the church calendar.

It was to be one of the highlights of church life in 2021 – the Ecumenical Church Congress in Frankfurt in May. Five days with more than 100.000 participants. But Corona is putting a stop to all major events until further notice. The Christian meeting is not to be cancelled, but will take on a completely different character. It is now to be shortened by one day, held largely digitally and without visitors on site.

The Synodal Way, the dialogue on the future of the Catholic Church in Germany that was launched about a year ago to great press attention, faces similar problems. As things stand, the 230-member synodal assembly will not meet for a second time until fall 2021 at the earliest. Behind the scenes and in smaller groups, however, the discussions between bishops and laity are to continue.

The Synodal Way

The topics are set: sexual morality, the priestly way of life, power and the separation of powers, and the role of women in the church. In the Vatican and the universal Church, the progress of the debates is being closely monitored. With the church leadership in Rome, representatives of the bishops and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) want to talk next year about a paper of the Roman Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on another and rather central aspect of church life.

The instruction published in the summer contradicted efforts to entrust the management of parishes to teams of priests and lay people committed to the Church. Lay people can participate in church leadership, but only priests are allowed to actually lead, administer, moderate and coordinate. Several bishops had been very critical of the paper – as had numerous laymen.

Financial cuts and structural changes

Meanwhile, in the diocese of Trier, it will become clear what parish reform can look like in practice in the face of a declining number of priests and active parishioners, as well as declining church tax revenues. The Vatican had halted the original plans in Germany's oldest diocese in November 2019 after complaints from priests and lay people from Trier. So now the project is to be relaunched next year and tackled in a second attempt. Those responsible have calculated a total of five years for this task.

The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) is also preparing for financial cuts and structural changes. 17 million euros to be saved in EKD budget by 2030. One of the tasks of the synod, which will be reconstituted in May, is to achieve this goal. It remains open who will lead the church parliament as president, succeeding former FDP politician Irmgard Schwaetzer. Since candidates with political experience are in demand for the post, former federal ministers Herrmann Grohe and Thomas de Maiziere (both CDU) would be possible candidates.

Coming to terms with sexual abuse

In the fall, the synod will elect the new EKD Council. The Bavarian Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm has already renounced his candidacy for the presidency, so that – after Margot Kabmann in 2009 – a female bishop could be elected to this top office for the second time, for example the deputy president of the Council, the Westphalian President Annette Kurschus, or the Hamburg Bishop Kirsten Fehrs.

One major ie remains for both churches in any case: coming to terms with abuse. In the Protestant church, the long-announced scientific study on sexualized violence has begun; results are expected in fall 2023. In the Catholic Church, there has recently been turbulence in the Archdiocese of Cologne. Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki is under prere because those affected accuse him of instrumentalizing them for his course. Most recently, cover-up allegations were made against himself. He has passed the matter on to Rome for consideration.

The spring plenary session will also be held digitally

Archbishop Stephan Hebe of Hamburg, formerly head of personnel and vicar general in Cologne, is also defending himself against such accusations and wants the Congregation of Bishops in the Vatican to decide whether he should remain in office. For both him and Woelki, everyone is looking forward to March with anticipation, when an expert report on the handling of abuse cases by executives in the Archdiocese of Cologne will actually be available.

It is quite possible that the German bishops will deal with the latest developments in this matter as early as the end of February, when they meet for their spring plenary session. But this will also be the first time that it will be held purely digitally, and not in Dresden as planned, where the diocese of Dresden-Meissen is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Corona is putting a spoke in the wheel here too.

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