Studies on sexual abuse continue to shake the Catholic Church. The dark field is large, many cases not processed. The Bishop of Würzburg cannot really understand why those affected speak of not being heard.
Würzburg (dpa / lby) - According to Bishop Franz Jung of Würzburg, there is still a lot of mediation work to be done in dealing with the abuse cases in the Catholic Church. "I couldn't say that those affected would not be heard," he said in an interview with the German Press Agency. "Whether the previous measures and decisions in the processing always correspond to their ideas is another matter."
The processing of the abuse scandal requires enormous commitment and represents a long learning path, "which is far from over. This also includes the fact that we as the German Bishops' Conference have recently fundamentally reorganized our structure in this area". The aim is to be able to take the concerns of those affected even better into account and to ensure greater independence in the processing. "But there are major tasks that are tackled at different speeds in the individual dioceses," said Jung.
"This non-simultaneity is certainly a problem, but it has several causes, such as the constitution of the necessary bodies such as the advisory board for those affected and the independent investigation commission." In addition, the question is repeatedly raised as to whether the amount of the recognition benefits is appropriate or not. "In this respect, there is still a lot in motion."
An expert from Wiesbaden is to draw up an expert opinion on cases of abuse in the Diocese of Würzburg between 1945 and 2019. According to the presentation of the independent commission for the processing of sexual abuse in the diocese of Würzburg, this should clarify, among other things, how many cases of abuse there were in this period and how it was dealt with in the diocese. With the help of the findings, the Commission wants to lay the foundations for future preventive measures to prevent acts of abuse as far as possible and to better protect potential victims.
In addition, in the first quarter of next year, a whistleblower system is to be launched on the Internet, "in which, in particular, previously undiscovered acts of abuse can be made anonymous and disclosed while comprehensively protecting the personal rights of those affected".
The German Bishops' Conference has asked all 27 dioceses to set up such commissions. Würzburg is one of seven dioceses in Bavaria and is located in the north of the Free State. It belongs to the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Bamberg. About 690,000 of the approximately 1.3 million inhabitants who live in the territory of the diocese are Catholics.
