GERMANY
Worldcrunch
DIE WELT (Germany)
BERLIN – A forensic analysis of the psychiatric and psychological profiles of 78 German Catholic priests accused of child abuse between 2000 and 2010 shows that only nine were pedophiles. Four showed homosexual tendencies towards adolescent boys. Of the remaining 65, 54% were heterosexuals, 37% were homosexual, and nine were bisexual.
Bishop Stephan Ackermann told Die Welt that it was hoped the study, which was mandated by the Catholic Church, would help the Church to better understand and deal with priests accused of child abuse, and that it would constitute a further step towards transparency.
Norbert Denef, the founder and head of netzwerkB, a German network for victims of “sexualized violence,” called for an independent commission to investigate the sexual abuse cases in the Catholic Church. This was the only way to ensure justice for victims, he said. “You wouldn’t ask the Mafia to investigate their own crimes,” he said.
Reporting abuse to authorities should be mandatory, and there should be no statute of limitations in child abuse cases because it sometimes took decades for victims to come to terms with the events and speak out, Denef said.
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