Bishop Bätzing defends himself against allegations

Created: 05/25/2022, 22:21

Georg Bätzing speaks during a press statement at the beginning of the Third Synodal Assembly of German Catholics.

© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa/image archive

The chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Georg Bätzing, has defended the promotion of a pastor who is said to have molested two women years earlier.

The incident was many years ago, and the priest had shown remorse and apologized, said Bätzing on Wednesday evening of the German Press Agency on the sidelines of the Catholic Day in Stuttgart.

Stuttgart - At the same time he emphasized: "Any kind of harassment, of assault, both verbally and physically, is a no-go.

And I don't accept that in any way."

The "Zeit" supplement "Christ & Welt" made it known on Tuesday that Bätzing had appointed a pastor in his Limburg diocese to the district dean despite allegations of sexual harassment.

The priest is said to have sexually harassed a Protestant pastor in training in 2000, and later also a prospective community officer.

Bätzing said that when he came to the diocese of Limburg, an affected person contacted him.

Through this, he found out that the pastoral team member had been assaulted years ago, both verbally and physically.

"However, in such a way that it is neither a criminal offense under state law nor under canon law," emphasized Bätzing.

"This is not an abuse within the meaning of the guidelines of the Catholic Church."

Nevertheless, he made it unmistakably clear to the pastor how he felt about his behavior.

“He has assured me that he has been suffering from this situation for many, many years.

That he doesn't know how it could have happened, he apologized in writing to the employee, but that apparently that doesn't lead to peace." Bätzing gave the pastor a formal admonition, a kind of warning.

"That's the end of my options."

When asked why he then promoted this pastor of all people, Bätzing replied: "Can I see a priest who made a mistake 15 years ago, which he understands, for which he shows remorse, for whom he has apologized and paid a fine - can I hold it up indefinitely?" The highly popular pastor was suggested by the vast majority of pastors for the position of district dean.

As bishop, he ultimately followed this vote.

"It's not a faux pas.

But I made this decision after considering the overall situation.” dpa