Pope Benedict XVI: Photo by Oliver-Bonjoch.
Catholic church child abuse scandal grips Germany.
Report by Lalon Sander.
Piece by piece the picture came together with newspapers digging out more and more victims who told of their ordeals. One victim was made to accompany his teachers into the basement on several occasions, where he was then abused. Others spoke of having been taken on car rides and being touched by the priests. Still, others reported of having been taken out of bed at night or having to perform sexual services, to be allowed to go to the bathroom.
The lawyer, in charge of investigating the cases of abuse for the Jesuits, Ursula Raue, summarised the sexual abuse, “The victims especially spoke of the manipulation of genitals and of caresses, rarely of violence.” In other cases, victims reported having to light a candle every time they masturbated, and then being questioned meticulously by the priests.
The final picture is one of systematic sexual abuse by people in positions of responsibility. A survey by the SPIEGEL magazine showed that there have been ninety-four suspected cases of sexual abuse in the past fifteen years. Of these, thirty were prosecuted. Currently, there are ten cases of suspected sexual abuse in Catholic institutions. And yet, these cases are probably only the tip of an iceberg.
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