Priests and nuns allegedly jointly plotted and carried out sexual abuse of children
Abuse by priests and nuns in Berlin. Victims and witnesses can come forward
In the Archdiocese of Berlin, sexual violence against children probably had larger dimensions than previously assumed. In the 1960s, priests and nuns allegedly plotted and carried out sexual abuse of children together.
As the Archdiocese stated in a press release on Friday, it assumes "that in the 1960s priests and nuns in Neukölln and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf jointly planned and carried out sexual abuse of children and that there is a connection between already published cases".
This is what statements by those affected had revealed. According to the Archdiocese, the accusations were examined for their credibility and reported to the responsible public prosecutor's office. It is not yet possible to say how many children and youths were affected.
Twelve perpetrators identified so far
So far, six accused priests and six nuns have been identified, the Archdiocese said. Most of them had already died. Two accused who are still alive and very old have been or will be confronted with the accusations, according to the Archdiocese.
"The accused knew each other and networked," the statement said. In addition to priests of the Archdiocese of Berlin, nuns of the Poor School Sisters of Our Lady and the Sisters of St. Elisabeth (Grey Sisters) were also involved. They had acted as a group towards the children.
According to the Archdiocese, the new findings emerged after the expert report on abuse by priests, deacons and religious on the territory of the archdiocese since 1945 was published two years ago. The study by the law firm Redeker Sellner Dahs, which was commissioned by the church, lists the cases of 61 accused clergymen. It is available on the homepage of the archdiocese with partly redacted information.
Search for witnesses continues
According to Sellner Dahs, events in parishes and testimonies of those affected revealed a connection between the expert opinion cases 21, 26 and 27. In these cases, victims report sexual violence by priests who worked as parish priests and religion teachers, as well as physical abuse by religious sisters.
According to the experts, the accusations, some of which had already become known at the time, were mostly not checked by church personnel managers and offences were not punished appropriately.
The Archdiocese calls on other victims and witnesses of alleged planned abuse to report to contact persons for sexual abuse or to the archdiocese's intervention officer.
In addition, Archbishop Heiner Koch and the vicar general of the Archdiocese, Father Manfred Kollig, will once again hold a digital consultation hour on the topic of sexualised violence and how to deal with and prevent it on 3 May from 6 pm.
Registration is required at www.erzbistumberlin.de/anmeldung/sprechstunde.
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