Arafat Hasan: Germany’s Catholic Church was scheduled to confess to and apologize for thousands of sexual abuse cases against children yesterday, as the global scandal mounts escalating pressure on the Vatican.
According to the report prepared by the German Bishops’ Conference, almost 3,700 minors were abused between 1946 and 2014 in Germany alone, details of which were leaked to the media earlier this month.
Justice Minister Katarina Barley said the study was “shocking and probably just the tip of the iceberg”. She urged the Church to “take responsibility for decades of concealment, cover-ups and denials”. Barley also called on the Roman Catholic Church to work with state prosecutors to bring every known case to justice, and to take steps to prevent more abuse.
The independent commissioner for child sex abuse issues, Johannes-Wilhelm Roerig, recommended state authorities step in to clear up the crimes and ensure victims get access to Church files and compensation.
The German Bishops Conference was due to officially release the research paper, which it commissioned four years ago, at the start of a four-day meeting in the western city of Fulda.