One day before the start of the General Assembly of the German Bishops' Conference, a new case of abuse in the Catholic Church has become known. And this is precisely in the diocese of Trier, whose bishop Stephan Ackermann nationwide at the head of the investigation of the attacks by priests and other servants.
The priest has been given a leave of absence because of allegations of abuse. The prosecution investigate the clergy for attempted sexual abuse of a "minor" person, said the diocese of Trier.
It is unclear whether the victim is male or female and whether it is a child or a teenager. According to the diocese, the allegations do not relate to the working environment of the pastor, there are no other allegations against the man known.
Community informed about allegations
Against the priest, a preliminary canonical investigation was initiated, it was said by the diocese. This rest initially during prosecutorial investigations, it was said to the case, previously reported by the "Trierische Volksfreund".
Until the end of the investigation, the priest is forbidden to perform priestly ministry, to stay in the area of his parish community or to have contact with children and adolescents. The honorary or full-time in the parish day people were informed about the allegation. The parish is not informed about which parish it is.
Bishop Ackermann had recently continued the discussions on the rehabilitation of sexualised violence within the Catholic Church. They build on a comprehensive study "Sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests, deacons and male religious in the area of the German Bishops' Conference" from September 2018.
