The report on sexual abuse within the archdiocese of Munich and Freising shocked the Catholics in the Würmtal.
They demand reappraisal and change.
Würmtal
– Achim Thomas, chairman of the parish council of St. Elisabeth Planegg, was not very surprised by the new revelations. "It was actually clear to me that the archdiocese of Munich-Freising would not be exempt from the allegations. I think the opinion of the law firm is credible, especially with regard to Pope Benedict,” he told our newspaper. Thomas, who is shocked and horrified by the revelations, finds it "above all sad that Pope Benedict has not lost a single word of apology in an 82-page statement".
Instead of an offer of resignation from individual officials like Cardinal Marx, it is more important to Planegger that the Catholic Church now take care of “that the power structures that have made such incidents of abuse and the concealment and cover-up of them possible are changed so radically that something like this can future will no longer be possible.”
Similar disclosure reports in the past have always been a big topic in the Planegger parish and this will probably be the case this time too.
"Without qualifying the allegations in any way, they shouldn't be the only topic we're dealing with in the near future, there are other important topics, too," says Achim Thomas.
Chaplain Gregor Schweizer from the parish association Gräfelfing St. Stefan and St. Johannes cannot yet comment on the report itself - one has to wait for the official statement of the diocese. But he has a lot to say on the subject: "I am very affected and, as a priest and representative of the Catholic Church, also very ashamed." And: "I hope that this report, which shook us all, will now be properly processed." In his eyes, the most important thing is to help the victims. "Whole livelihoods were destroyed."
After allegations of abuse within the Catholic Church are not new and especially in 2010, a lot has changed, says the chaplain. Since 2010, the church has responded with preventive measures, such as the mandatory submission of a police clearance certificate, as well as seminars and courses to raise awareness of the issue. In every community there is now a protection concept and a prevention officer. "It would also be important for the communities to talk about it openly," says Kaplan Schweizer.
Markus Hinz, parish council member of St. Nikolaus Neuried and responsible for public relations, thinks it's good that the topic is now openly on the table.
"It is important that the report is now processed, consequences are drawn and the church learns from its mistakes." In his opinion, a lot went wrong in the Catholic Church.
"There were both personal and systemic failures."
Thomas Heidenreich, chairman of the parish council of St. Stefan in Gräfelfing, believes that sexual abuse is not only a problem within the Catholic Church, but a social issue that needs to be dealt with and preventive measures taken.
"The church in particular has more to deal with than others and should be a pioneer."
