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Essen Cathedral: H. is no longer subject to any ecclesiastical authority to issue directives
Photo: IMAGO
In 1979, allegations of child abuse against Peter H. were made in the diocese of Essen for the first time.
In 2022, the priest who was accused of abuse in the diocese of Essen and in the archdiocese of Munich-Freising and convicted under criminal law was released from the clergy.
The diocese of Essen, in which the man now lives again, announced this on Monday.
The laicization is now being carried out by the diocese, which after the first allegations chose a supposedly more convenient way to get rid of H.: Instead of reporting him, he was allegedly transferred to the Archdiocese of Munich-Freising for therapy.
The ordinariate in Munich was informed about the deeds, according to the diocese of Essen decades later.
Nevertheless, the priest, who was convicted of sexual abuse, could probably again commit assaults in office.
After being transferred to another community in Garching an der Alz, he is said to have abused boys again.
H. had been brought to Munich-Freising from North Rhine-Westphalia during the tenure of Joseph Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI.
The exact course of the meeting and who knew what about H's background had recently been discussed.
After the publication of a comprehensive report on abuse, Benedikt came under pressure, corrected himself and admitted that he had made a false statement.
Ratzinger's successor, Cardinal Friedrich Wetter, in turn said that how he later dealt with the H. case filled him "with shame and sadness."
He had not done justice to the protection of children and young people to the necessary extent.
Read the timeline of the Peter H case here.
After H. was ordered back to the Ruhr diocese by Bavaria in 2020, he has now left the clergy there.
As part of ongoing canonical proceedings, the Vatican H. had been instructed that, in view of the allegations, he himself could apply for release from the priesthood, the diocese of Essen announced.
Because H. made use of this opportunity, laicization has now taken place.
According to the information, the Bishop of Essen, Franz-Josef Overbeck, ordered the priest back in order to prevent possible further acts of abuse through close supervision.
Since 2010, H. has been prohibited from performing priestly services.
Against the background of the numerous and serious cases for which H. is responsible, the "dismissal from the priesthood, which is the maximum penalty for priests, is understandable and appropriate," it said.
At the same time, the diocese was concerned that it no longer had any control over the pedophile priest.
If H. no longer belongs to the clergy, the previous supervision will not be able to be continued in the long term.
"I see that with concern," Bishop Overbeck wrote to the Vatican.
It is now a matter of making a transition, according to Simon Friede, Intervention Commissioner of the Ruhr Diocese.
The diocese is in talks with H. about this, but H. is no longer subject to ecclesiastical authority to issue directives.
Apr
