The German synodal journey enters a new phaseCard. Rainer M. WoelkiI ask that space be given in the synodal journey to the Pope's indications".An expert report, presented today in Cologne, exonerates Cardinal Rainer Woelki of having allegedly violated his obligations in the face of cases of sexual abuse in his diocese. However, it has found that in the past - between 1975 and 2018 - there were 75 cases of such injuries by church officials, of which a third would fall in the period when the diocese was ruled by the late Cardinal Joachim Meisner.
Relief from office
Due to this breach of duty, Cardinal Woelki has relieved Auxiliary Bishop Dominik Schwaderlapp and Judicial Vicar Günter Assenmacher of their duties. In a statement, Auxiliary Bishop Schwaderlapp announced that he will present his resignation to the Pope; he acknowledges that "in my duty of vigilance and control I should have acted more and more decisively"; also that he should have studied whether the cases of abuse should be communicated to Rome. "But what I am most ashamed of is that I have taken too little account of what the people affected feel and what they need and what the Church should do for them".
A promise kept
Cardinal Woelki, after the official delivery of the report to him, declared: "The cases mentioned by Mr. Gercke affect me deeply. These are clerics guilty of doing violence to people entrusted to their care, and in many cases without being punished for it and - what is even worse - without the people affected by this violence being taken seriously and protected. This is concealment. With this report, however, we have finally fulfilled a first promise: to reveal what has happened, to shed light on the cover-up and to name those responsible."
The expert opinion was commissioned by Cardinal Woelki and has been prepared by an independent firm of lawyers, specialized in Criminal Law, in order to study the ecclesiastical action in cases of sexual abuse. Björn Gercke, the main author of the report - in which ten lawyers from his firm participated, in addition to two specialists in Canon Law - explained at a press conference that the purpose of his study was not to evaluate the facts themselves, but the treatment or the reaction on the part of the ecclesiastical authority.
Another important aspect to understand the scope of the expertise lies in the fact that it has been carried out, between last October and March 15, on the basis of 236 personnel files, in addition to "countless minutes of meetings" that they had at their disposal. The firm also conducted ten interviews with persons involved in the investigation of the facts.
Appropriate reactions?
The fundamental question to be elucidated by the expert opinion centered on the question whether the ecclesiastical authority - in the period from 1975 to 2018 - reacted adequately when possible sexual abuse of minors or entrusted persons (e.g. in residences) was reported, in accordance with the rules in force in each case, whether one can speak of a cover-up and, in this case, whether this is due to systemic reasons.
The report shows that, in these 236 files, there are 202 "defendants" and at least 314 persons affected. Of the defendants, the majority (63 %) were clerics and 33 % were lay persons (the remaining 4 % were offenses in "institutions"); of the victims, 57 % were male and 55 % were minors under 14 years of age.
Five categories
With regard to the offenses that may have been committed by ecclesiastical authorities, the opinion distinguishes between five categories: obligation to clarify the facts, obligation to report (to civil authorities and to the Vatican Congregation), obligation to impose sanctions, obligation to take measures to prevent abuses, and obligation to care for the victims.
According to the experts, in 24 files it was possible to unequivocally establish infringements; in 104 they concluded that it was possible that such infringements had been committed, but that it could not be definitively clarified; in 108 cases it can be concluded that (always according to the files) no infringements occurred.
Conclusions
Among the conclusions of the report are: in the cases of abuse committed by lay people, the reaction was expeditious (e.g., dissolution of the contract); there are no cases of infractions according to criminal law (although the authors of the report state that they will send it to the Prosecutor's Office for study). In the 24 files mentioned above, a total of 75 infringements can be ascertained, in accordance with the above categorization.
Irrespective of the individual cases, the experts conclude: "We have encountered a system with a lack of distribution of competencies, a lack of legal clarity, a lack of control possibilities and a lack of transparency; all this facilitates concealment, with the collaboration of many people, also outside the diocese of Cologne.
While it is not possible to speak of a 'systematic concealment' on the part of those responsible in the Cologne bishopric, it is permissible to speak of a 'concealment inherent in the system. According to Gercke, there was no action according to a plan, nor were there "instructions from above", but rather "without coordination and without a plan". For this reason, the true extent of the abuses and their concealment remains unclear.
Some recommendations
The experts include some recommendations, which could be summarized in the demand for professionalization, to address the legislative chaos and ignorance of existing regulations, as well as the lack of training: introduction of standardized rules and above all continuous training of the people who have to deal with suspicious cases, as well as permanent monitoring and a clear system of sanctions.
More generally, the authors of the report refer to the fact that for a long time ecclesiastical authorities dealt with cases of sexual abuse of minors "because the perpetrator breached his priestly or ecclesiastical duties, but not because it was considered particularly serious from the point of view of the victims."
More personal consequences
However, the first personal consequences of the report have not remained in the relief of the auxiliary bishop and the judicial vicar of Cologne. Late Thursday afternoon, Archbishop of Hamburg Stefan Hesse - who was the head of the personnel department of the Cologne diocese from 2006 to 2012 and then vicar general from 2012 to 2014 - announced in a personal statement that he had submitted his resignation to Pope Francis and had asked him to be relieved immediately of his position.
In that statement he emphasizes that he had always acted "to the best of my knowledge and belief: I had conversations with many of those affected by the abuses and tried to understand them." Although "I never participated in any cover-up, I am ready to bear my share of responsibility for the failure of the system" in order to avoid the damage that could be caused to the Archdiocese of Hamburg and the office of the Archbishop.
Apologies
Another auxiliary bishop of Cologne, Ansgar Puff, has also asked Cardinal Woelki to relieve him of his duties. Although he was not mentioned by name in the report, it referred to the fact that a "director of the personnel department of the diocese" had violated his duties to investigate child abuse.
The current auxiliary bishop Puff held that position after Bishop Stefan Hesse, between 2012 and 2013. In a video message released on Friday, he said: "I am infinitely sorry. I have to admit that I was also juridically not up to the task and I was not very clear about what I should have done. I want to apologize for that.
