Talks on child abuse criticised

Tag: germany

he German government convened round-table talks yesterday on the child abuse scandal engulfing the Catholic Church in Pope Benedict XVI’s native country amid criticism that victims were excluded.

Annette Schavan, education minister, said in Berlin that “a breach of trust against children and youths took place right in the midst of our society on an unimaginable scale”.

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“The main aim (of the round table) must be justice for the victims and greatly to improve protection and checks in the future,” Schavan told reporters.

Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger pointed to one measure in place that has already borne fruit.
“In four weeks, the hotline established by the Catholic Church to hear victims’ stories has received 18,000 calls, leading to 1,600 counselling sessions,” she told reporters after the discussions.

The talks, including some 60 representatives from the Catholic and Protestant Churches, children’s charities, teachers, psychologists and other experts, also examined possible compensation and ways to prevent future abuse.
Working groups will meet again in May, then once more before Germany’s summer break that begins in July. There will be a further meeting of the round table in September where proposals will be presented.

But some highly renowned independent organisations that provide advice to victims feel they are under-represented, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported.

“I have the impression that the victims are being shut out,” Ursula Enders, co-founder of one of these organisations, the highly regarded Zartbitter, told the newspaper.

Thomas Schlingmann from Tauwetter, another such organisation, said he was sceptical that the talks would produce concrete results that would boost child protection, fearing instead only well-meaning but ineffective statements.
A survey of Catholics published in the mass-circulation Bild daily yesterday showed almost a quarter (23%) saying that they had recently considered leaving the church, while 64% said the church’s reputation had been damaged.

Another poll last month showed 86% of Germans thought the church was not doing enough to investigate abuse allegations.

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