German Priest Accused Of Sexual Abuse

The Archdiocese of Mainz has suspended a priest for allegedly repeatedly abusing a 14-year-old boy in the late 1980s.

According to a report in the newsweekly Der Spiegel, the Catholic priest sexually abused altar boys over a period of several years. One victim has now stepped forward and formally accused the clergyman.

The Archbishop of Mainz and head of the German Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Karl Lehmann, said the church would investigate the allegations "quickly and intensively". In an official statement issued in response to the magazine article, Lehmann said the church would "not refrain from taking the required consequences if necessary".

The worldwide debate on paedophile priests was sparked by the sex scandal engulfing the U.S. Catholic Church. It has since ended the careers of four bishops and some 250 priests in the U.S. over similar alleged incidents.

Still working on a standard procedure

According to Lehmann, the Bishops' Conference was "thoroughly discussing" measures to prevent and deal with cases of "paedophile abnormalities" among church employees. These would be adopted at the Conference's annual meeting in September.

"We have to ask ourselves, though, whether we need to proceed even more consistently," Lehmann said. However, it was often difficult to clarify a case quickly and reliably.

He said adequate evidence would lead to the immediate suspension of the accused cleric, a procedure consistent with the demands of the Pope and guidelines set up by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

"The church is in a learning process about this serious problem, as is society," Lehmann said.

More needs to be done

But religious groups say the church is not doing enough. The German grassroots organization "We are Church" has accused the Bishop's Conference of playing down the question of sexual abuse from priests.

It isn't sufficient to only set up criteria to deal with paedophile cases in the church, group spokesman Christian Weisner said. It is demanding a central ombudsman for victims to turn to. This office would work independently from the archdioceses, in order to ensure trustworthy help, he said.

Weisner said his group welcomed Cardinal Lehmann's change of position regarding paedophile priests. In April, Lehmann had not seen any necessity to look closer at possible cases in the German ranks following the US scandal. "It's good that Lehmann now sees the need to act – I hope, he will also do something," Weisner said.

IGGSM, an initiative against violence and sexual abuse of children and youth, also sharply criticized the Bishop's Conference. It said the bishops need to agree quickly on a common procedure.