Freiburg (dpa/lsw) - In order to prevent sexualized violence in the church, the archdiocese of Freiburg has issued another code of conduct for employees. According to the diocese on Wednesday, the document states "how pastoral care staff deal with people entrusted to them, so that border-respecting interaction is guaranteed and the church is a safe space for everyone involved".
The rules were drawn up with broad participation from employee representatives and the council of priests, among others. The code of conduct provides information about the appropriateness of physical contact, choice of words, appropriate behavior at events with overnight stays and how to deal with media and social networks.
According to a diocesan spokesman, the code is, so to speak, a further development of an existing code from the spring and is aimed specifically at pastoral staff. This means all who are ordained, such as priests and deacons, but also pastoral workers who are not ordained. Archbishop Stephan Burger and Vicar General Christoph Neubrand also signed the Code.
The Archdiocese of Freiburg intends to present a long-awaited report on cases of sexual abuse on October 25th. This is intended to bring clarity to this criminal part of the archdiocese's history. Research on the basis of personal files after sexual abuse had previously brought frightening things to light: from the beginning of 1946 to the end of 2015, 190 suspects were discovered, most of them priests, and at least 442 victims.
