German archbishop vows further investigation into abuse in Catholic church

By Timo Kirez

BERLIN (AA) - Following the publication of a study on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in the German state of Mecklenburg from 1946 to 1989, Hamburg Archbishop Stefan Hesse on Monday vowed to commission further investigations.

The further investigations will cover all of northern Germany, Hesse said. "As an archdiocese, we will commission further investigations in coordination with the Processing Commission and the Council of Affected Persons, which will look at the entire area of today's archdiocese and the entire period up to the present day," Hesse said at a press conference in Hamburg.

The study on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Mecklenburg from 1946 to 1989 was presented last Friday in Schwerin. It revealed a large number of assaults on children and young people by priests.

The researchers had identified 40 victims and 19 accused but assumed a higher number of unreported cases. They also came to the conclusion that state pressure on the church in former East Germany had favored the cover-up of abuse cases.

"We in the Archdiocese of Hamburg must also take note that church leaders did not act appropriately according to our current knowledge," Hesse said.

According to the archbishop, the perpetrators were not consistently held accountable.