Sexual violence in the Archdiocese of Cologne: The Rainer Maria Woelki system

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Cardinal Woelki: The dates for leaving the church in Cologne are no longer sufficient

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Andreas Arnold / picture alliance / dpa

The student was already asleep when the priest is said to have sat down on his bed.

It was his last night before leaving the Collegium Josephinum, a Catholic boarding school near Bonn.

He later said the clergyman started stroking him and sticking his tongue into his mouth.

"He then touched my penis," said the alleged victim.

“Then he took my hand and wanted to lead it to his member.

But I flinched. ”Shortly afterwards the man let go of him and left.

What Priest E. is said to have done around 40 years ago is documented in a report on dealing with sexual abuse at the Collegium, which was published in 2017.

Because of his offense, E. was suspended from the priestly service in 1982, as the archbishopric records show.

The prosecution was not involved.

But the priest's career continued.

The archbishopric lifted his suspension from the priesthood and appointed him first as chaplain, later as pastor and youth minister.

In 2002, he is said to have behaved sexually abusive towards a teenage girl.

Nevertheless, Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki did not say goodbye to him until 2017, two weeks before the publication of the abuse report by the Collegium Josephinum.

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