Cologne (dpa / lnw) - Before the hearing about a claim for damages by an abuse victim, the Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, says he does not insist on the statute of limitations for the corresponding acts. The Archdiocese announced on Monday evening that he had decided not to raise the so-called defense of the statute of limitations in the case. A state court should decide on the amount of the claim for damages for the actions of a priest who committed sexual abuse, it said.
"In this particular case, I wanted to waive the defense of the statute of limitations," Woelki was quoted as saying in the statement. He was "very grateful" to the "authorized bodies" for supporting the decision.
It was made public just a few hours before a hearing in the case before the Cologne district court scheduled for Tuesday and is very relevant to it. Because the issue of the statute of limitations was considered a sticking point in the process.
In the case, a 62-year-old man who says he was abused by a Catholic priest in the 1970s is demanding more than 700,000 euros in damages from the archdiocese. His lawyer sees the diocese in official liability for the suffering suffered by his client.
According to the information, the case can also be found in the report published in 2021 by criminal lawyer Björn Gercke on dealing with allegations of abuse against priests in the Archdiocese of Cologne.
The archdiocese explained that the last act was 43 years ago. At that time, the statute of limitations was 30 years.
