Abuse victims in Germany demand timetable for redress

La Croix International
March 18, 2019

https://bit.ly/2UNcUTr

Cardinal Reinhard Marx passes women of the Catholic Women's Community of Germany who demonstrate to draw attention to the cases of abuse in the church. Photo by Friso Gentsch

As thousands of victims of predator priests in Germany seek redress for clerical sex abuse, German Catholic bishops conceded they must admit wrongdoing and make amends, but failed to offer a timetable.

Cardinal Reinhard Marx, head of the German bishops' conference, said March 14 that the culture of silence and cover-ups "is over," adding this should have been dealt with "perhaps 20 years, 30 years ago," AFP reports.

However, "the process of cleansing is not finished in three days, it's a continuing path," he said.

Critics say Cardinal Marx was resorting to the Church's default setting of stonewalling on the issue, as he would not be drawn on concrete plans or dates for new policies or compensation payouts.

The prelate made the remarks at the end of a four-day episcopal conference in Lingen that was punctuated by a rally outside its gates organized by the Catholic Women's Community of Germany.

About 400 protesters demanded the Church issue a series of reforms, with women given a greater say in how it is run. They handed over a petition with more than 30,000 names.

These events took place nearly two weeks after Pope Francis convened an assembly of Church leaders in Rome to discuss the sex abuse crisis and the protection of minors.

"We carry responsibility toward those affected around the world — no-one among us can still negate the problem or treat it as a taboo," Cardinal Marx said.

Matthias Matsch, speaking for a victims' group called Eckiger Tisch, said in a statement, "the truth is that the bishops are scared — rightly — that very, very many people will insist on compensation."

The German Church has apologized and said it is seeking an "un-bureaucratic" way to award people damages, while also seeking ways to put in place better prevention and monitoring systems.

Bishop Stephan Ackermann said the Church has received over 1,900 claims for "benefits in acknowledgment of suffering."