By J. Völkerling and A. Wegener
Bild
March 16, 2010
http://www.bild.de/BILD/news/bild-english/world-news/2010/03/16/child-abuse-allegations/church-suspends-sex-scandal-priest.html
GERMANY -- It's a chilling picture a laughing priest stands amid a crowd of altar boys, but none of the youngsters or their parents suspected that he had already been convicted of child sex offences and banned from working with young people.
Now Peter H. has been suspended with immediate effect as the abuse scandal allegations which have rocked the Church in Germany continue to gather pace.
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| Priest Peter H. (62) at a festival in Garching with altar boys. Church officials had banned him from contact with children and young people. |
The paedophile priest held youth services and took young people camping despite his ban on contact with children.
But finally it has come to an end the Church has stopped paedophile priests after more than 30 years!
Archbishop of Munich and Freising Bernhard Kellner revealed on Monday: "Priest H. will be suspended from service with immediate effect."
The case is particularly sensational because Pope Benedict XVI, who was Archbishop of Munich and Freising at the time, agreed to Peter H.'s transfer from Essen to Munich.
What did the priest do?
Peter H. abused at least two children in Essen in 1979 and in Bavaria in 1985. He was sentenced to 18 months probation for the latter case.
The first victim, Wilfried Fesselmann (today 41) from Gelsenkirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia, has made serious accusations: "I was 11. The priest invited 'nice children' to sleep in the vicarage.
"He gave me Bacardi and cola. Then he took off his trousers and forced me to have oral sex. The next morning I found a note: 'Please go home and quickly forget it '"
Peter H. continued to lead youth services after his transfer and took children camping. He preached about love and told young people that nothing in life should be without love.
His superior, Prelate Josef Obermaier, resigned on Monday. A diocese spokesman said: "He accepts responsibility for serious errors in the course of his supervision."
The suspended priest, who could now be fired, refused to comment to BILD.
In the meantime, the Vatican has announced that the Pope will make a statement about the child abuse scandal.
He is working on a pastoral letter to the faithful.
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