“Unjustly not criticized”

adminonDecember 14, 2021January 5, 2022Leave a Comment

Member of the advisory board of the Protestant church demands better processing of sexualized violence © Julia Steinbrecht (KNA)

A member of the Protestant Church's advisory council for victims has criticized the way sexualized violence is dealt with. The publicly cited figure of 900 documented cases of abuse is "not even the tip of the iceberg".

Panel member Katharina Kracht accused the Protestant Church of "always pointing the finger at Catholics". She told the "Kolnische/Bonner Rundschau" (Saturday) that the Catholic Church is rightly criticized "and the Protestant Church is wrongly not criticized," Kracht said. The church is far behind in coming to terms with sexualized violence.

Kracht called for an independent ombudsman's office that should not be staffed by church employees: "The church cannot, so to speak, work itself up."The advisory board also needs much better equipment and professional legal advice.

Affected parties' advisory council met for the first time in September

In the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), an independent research network is investigating structures and patterns of sexualized violence and abuse in a three-year study. The victims' advisory council met for the first time in September last year.

He was appointed by the EKD to involve victims of sexualized violence in the church in projects for processing, compensation and prevention. The committee is to advise as a counterpart the EKD Council of Representatives on the subject of abuse, in which clergy and church lawyers sit.

Dark clouds over Australia's church © Friso Gentsch

Up to 40 percent of members of Catholic religious orders in Australia, as well as seven percent of the country's priests, are believed to have been involved in child sexual abuse cases. Sydney archbishop expressed shock.

Among the Catholic orders, more than 20 percent of the Marist Brothers, Salesians and Christian Brothers were accused of abuse. At 40.4 percent, the Merciful Brothers of St. John of God in particular stood out negatively. The average age of the victims was reported to be about eleven years old. At 90 percent, boys were by far the largest victim group. More than 4.440 people said they had been sexually abused by priests, religious and staff of church institutions between 1980 and 2015, according to the commission.

In most cases, the allegations were inconsequential, said Gail Furness, senior counsel for the commission, according to Australian media reports. "Children were ignored or – worse – punished. Allegations were not investigated. 'The parishes or communities to which defendants were transferred knew nothing of their past,' Furness says.

"We Catholics are ashamed of ourselves"

Anthony Fisher, Archbishop of Sydney, expressed shock at the new findings in an initial statement, saying, "What the commission has found so far is horrific." He and the church regretted past misconduct that left so many victims. He knows that many priests and believers feel the same: "We Catholics are ashamed of ourselves."However, he pointed out that the abuse report was about allegations and alleged perpetrators. No distinction is made between unconfirmed allegations and legally resolved incidents, it said.

Curia Cardinal George Pell accused

Meanwhile, in Melbourne on Monday, there was a new development with regard to the allegations against Curia Cardinal George Pell. Police, according to consistent reports, handed over evidence to the prosecutor in charge of the case that proved Pell had sexually abused several boys between 1978 and 2001 as a priest in Ballarat and later as archbishop of Melbourne. The public prosecutor's office should examine whether the material is sufficient for an indictment, it was said.

Prevention strategies needed

The Abuse Commission, set up by the Australian government in 2013, began its final hearing on Monday in Sydney into the Catholic Church's handling of the abuse scandal. Three weeks to evaluate evidence and data from past years' hearings on the behavior of Catholic dioceses, religious orders and institutions. The statements of victims and witnesses are also to be addressed. It will also focus on how the church plans to prevent child sexual abuse in the future. To that end, the commission has summoned numerous bishops, canon law experts and other representatives.

Now it's the Bundesrat's turn: this Friday, in its last session before the summer break, it will take a final look at "marriage for all". This would have passed another hurdle. Approval is considered certain.

If the state chamber approves the opening of marriage to gay and lesbian couples, the law still has to be signed by the Federal President before it can come into force.

Abstention from NRW?

North Rhine-Westphalia apparently wants to abstain from the vote, according to sources in the CDU/FDP coalition. Apparently, the coalition partners had agreed on Tuesday at a cabinet meeting in Munster to abstain from voting, because they hold different positions on "marriage for all".

It would still be possible to refer the matter to the mediation committee in the Bundesrat. However, the Bavarian state government, which is critical of "marriage for all," announced that it would refrain from taking such a step. Instead, he said, a lawsuit before the Federal Prosecution Court is being considered. However, this will be done "very carefully and without time prere," emphasized Marcel Huber (CSU), head of the State Chancellery.

In a guest article for the "Welt" (Friday), Federal Minister of Justice Heiko Maas (SPD) reiterates his recent and repeatedly expressed catch, according to which there is no contradiction between the "marriage for all" and the constitutional requirement of the protection of marriage. "The concept of marriage is open to development. Because it has changed and marriage is now the permanent cohabitation of two people of any sex, we do not need an amendment to the Basic Law," Maas said.

Criticism from church circles

The Berlin Catholic auxiliary bishop Matthias Heinrich, on the other hand, renewed the Church's criticism of the introduction of a "marriage for all". The resolution passed by the Bundestag a week ago is a "sham," Heinrich writes in a guest article for the tabloid B.Z.". The concept of marriage had been "unceremoniously reinterpreted".

The authors of the Basic Law "clearly meant the long-term partnership of a man and a woman" by marriage and family, emphasizes the auxiliary bishop. Catholic Church also sticks to this understanding for good reasons, he said. Heinrich rejected the accusation that this would discriminate against homosexuals. It is rather "about clarity in the terms and about honesty".

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