The uncovering of cases of abuse in the Catholic Church does not stop. Now more details about sexualized violence in Mecklenburg have been announced. The catchment area of today’s Archdiocese of Hamburg.
Inhalt / Content
Educational work in Mecklenburg
In the current wave of educational work on the mass abuse cases in the Catholic Church, further details on the Mecklenburg catchment area have now been published. In addition to the unspeakable suffering of the victims, other spicy details came to light. According to investigations, the “public sector” was not the perpetrator, but was nevertheless an accomplice and even a beneficiary.
State & Stasi got involved
The study published on Friday shows that the sexual assaults on children and young people within the Catholic Church during the GDR era were not only covered up by those responsible in the church, but also by the state. The investigations cover the period between 1946 and 1989. Accordingly, there were even agreements between the two institutions to conceal the abuse of the wards. Repeat offenders should be deported to the West. From the point of view of the Church, this corresponds only to an “internal transfer”.
The Stasi (so-called state security service in the GDR) would not have been the Stasi if they had not also taken advantage of the perpetrators. The secret service agents for the “state security” put the perpetrators and those who knew about them under pressure for a “successful” cooperation.
Rape linked to religion
The study shows that the abuse victims he cath. Church in Mecklenburg were 10 years old on average. The period of sexualised violence lasted an average of five years. In most cases, these attacks were also known to the church leadership and the congregation. What was particularly perfidious about these crimes was the fictitious appreciation of the abuses based on a reference to an educational or even religious necessity. This included beatings and rapes.
Perpetrators not named due to data protection
In Mecklenburg, part of the Archdiocese of Hamburg, there were already an above-average number of cases of abuse on the part of the Catholic Church in 2018. known to the Church. By then, around 40 victims and 19 perpetrators had been identified. However, it is assumed that the number of unreported cases is much higher. In the hands of the investigators were around 1,500 files from the state and church archives, including 12 files from the Stasi. One perpetrator alone was responsible for 19 of the cases of abuse. In addition to the victims, the perpetrators may not be named for data protection reasons.
Expect more revelations
The end of the flagpole in cases of abuse by those responsible in the Catholic Church. In view of the disclosures made so far, the Church is far from being reached. Although the clerics in Germany raged particularly fiercely, the “Roman universal church” is still spread almost around the globe. In Portugal one is also in the process of working through the sexualized violence by priests and other “officials” of this church.
