Reactions from parishes to reports on abuse: “This is pulling the rug out of the church”

Created: 01/22/2022, 07:00

By: Sebastian Grauvogl

A somber chapter in the history of the Church is highlighted in a sensational report on abuse presented on Thursday.

© dpa

The results of the abuse report on incidents in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising also shake the parishes in the Miesbach district.

The reactions are clear.

District

– Matthias Hefter is happy that he is not assigned to be the leader of the word service this Sunday.

"I don't know what I could preach to people without them thinking that the church should look at itself first," says the chairman of the Holzkirchen-Warngau parish association council.

In fact, the most recent revelations in the abuse report on incidents in the archdiocese of Munich and Freising have left Hefter speechless.

One day after the public presentation of the findings, which Hefter followed live and in full via an online live stream, he blurted out when asked by our newspaper.

Matthias Hefter, Chairman of the Parish Council of Holzkirchen-Warngau © Andreas Leder

Not only despite, but precisely because the ordinariate has forbidden the pastors from speaking to the press on this matter, he is happy to raise his voice.

"As a layman, no one can shut me up," Stapler clarifies.

Then he gets specific.

The results of the report and their consequences are actually unimaginable: "It pulls the rug out from under the church's feet," says the chairman of the parish council.

He was particularly disappointed by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. "How can you write 80 pages without asking for forgiveness once?" Asks Hefter.

It is true that there is abuse in other areas as well, but the moral bar in the church is – rightly so – quite a bit higher.

Also interesting: Pastor from Miesbach welcomes offer of resignation from Cardinal Marx

Michael Mannhardt, dean and pastor of Miesbach and Hausham © Thomas Plettenberg

How the clergy in the district see it, one could only speculate on Friday. Both Dean Michael Mannhardt and Monsignor Walter Waldschütz adhere to the stipulations of the Ordinariate. But they don't want to see it as a muzzle. "We've never had anything like this before, and it doesn't exist now either," emphasizes Mannhardt. However, it is understandable “to let the professionals do it in this challenging situation instead of polarizing even further in a polyphony. In the on-site services, the topic can of course be dealt with, yes, one even has to. So it will very well take place in Miesbach in the Sunday mass, in the sermon as well as in prayer. The pastor's personal opinion should not be left out. "Anyone who knows me knows how I feel about it anyway," says Mannhardt.

Walter Waldschütz, monsignor and pastor of Tegernsee-Egern-Kreuth © Thomas Plettenberg

Monsignor Waldschütz already sent out a sign on Friday that the matter is bothering him.

He shared the video with Cardinal Reinhard Marx's statement on his private Facebook page - albeit without commenting on it.

Waldschütz also adheres to the communication path specified from above with regard to our newspaper.

But he also makes it clear that the silence does not apply to personal conversations with believers and church bodies.

"That would contradict our task as pastors."

Also read: Deanery seeks candidates for parish council election

Stapler finds it even worse how the church as an institution deals with the allegations.

Instead of revealing things bit by bit, one should have cleaned up many years ago when the first misconduct became known.

But as it was, the topic was dragged on and on and it was only boiled up even further.

"In this way, people who are already having trouble with the church are given the reasons for leaving on a silver platter," says Hefter, admitting frankly that without the great cooperation in the local parish association he probably wouldn't have been in the church for so long church would have engaged.

Verena Wolf, secretary of the Frauenbund Miesbach © Thomas Plettenberg

For the secretary of the Catholic Women's League in Miesbach, Verena Wolf, it is precisely this commitment of lay people that is the key to the success of the process of coming to terms with the situation in the church. The open discussions in the women's association would show how the "invisible wall" of the accusations could be made tangible and how it could be dealt with. Wolf is all the sadder about the role the church has maneuvered itself into in recent years. "It is always passive in its defensive attitude instead of actively tackling this difficult issue." It is precisely the strength of the church, "to deal with people more honestly than any other institution in the world". Wolf also expects this sovereignty when dealing with misconduct in his own ranks. She says: "The protective cloak,that the church puts on its followers must not become a cloak for crimes.” Especially when children were the victims.