Status: 08/05/2022 06:26 a.m
The plaintiff, who was abused by a priest for ten years as a child, is demanding 800,000 euros from the Archdiocese of Cologne. His accusation: those responsible could have prevented the abuse. Why his decision is important for other people affected.
The evidence seems clear. Because the accused priest Erich Jansen had admitted his actions before his death: severe abuse and rape in at least 320 cases. These can also be read in the so-called Gercke report, which the Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki himself wrote for the archdiocese Cologne had commissioned.
Georg Menne as a child
Image: WDR/Georg Menne
According to Georg Menne, the plaintiff, it is also about sadistic torture. “I was stripped down to my underpants, tied up and given a cold shower. That served to test how far I could go,” says Menne. There are photos of it: the sight of the photographed boy, Menne as a child, is hard to bear.
Who knew about the incidents?
The crimes happened in the 1970s and lasted for a decade, although the then Archbishop of Cologne, Joseph Höffner, and others in charge were already aware of allegations against Jansen. “If they had taken him out of circulation, the crimes that happened to me and other children would not have happened,” Menne is convinced.
157 pages of complaint
Menne’s lawyer, Eberhard Luetjohann, had pushed the preparation of the 157-page lawsuit to its limits. The Bonn lawyer is certain that the church, as a public institution, is responsible for protecting the children entrusted to it. That’s why you can sue them in a civil court, even if the perpetrator is no longer alive and the actions are actually time-barred.
Because in the case of so-called official liability in civil proceedings, the defendant institution, i.e. the church, would have to actively assert the statute of limitations itself. The court does not examine them ex officio. But that, says Menne’s lawyer, the church cannot morally afford. Because the bishops did not refer to the statute of limitations for the recognition payments for those affected.
Many allegations against the Church
The accusations from the statement of claim: the church would have destroyed files, obstructed the judiciary and set up a system of thwarting criminal prosecution. Luetjohann writes that the Church generally avoids the word “human rights”. This word can be found neither in the Gercke report nor in the statements made by those responsible in recent years.
Georg Menne is suing the Archdiocese of Cologne
Image: WDR/ Christina Zühlke
In the case of Georg Menne, the churches only punished the accused priest in 2014, 40 years after the abuse, with a professional ban, withdrawal of title, fine and the requirement not to approach children. There were no consequences for those who used it even though it was already under suspicion. So far, Menne has received a recognition payment of 25,000 euros. That’s not enough, says his lawyer.
Potential precedent
In Germany, compensation for pain and suffering for a rape rarely exceeds 100,000 euros. If you were to extrapolate this sum to the 320 deeds, says lawyer Luetjohann, you would end up in the millions – not including the long-term consequences of the abuse. The verdict that would result from this court case would thus set a precedent for other stakeholders.
His lawsuit could set a precedent
Image: WDR/Christina Zühlke
Menne reports years of therapy, sleep disorders, migraines and neurodermatitis. He now has a degree of disability of 50 percent – according to his doctors, this is a result of abuse. Menne wrestled with himself for years as to whether he really wanted to sue the church. His lawyer believes that many of those affected do not have the strength to sue. Many also lack the information that a lawsuit is possible, even if the perpetrator is dead and the act is statute-barred.
Bishops must answer
Karl Haucke from the Federal Government’s Council for Affected Persons is happy that Menne has mustered up the courage. The church would then no longer be able to “fiddle about with its own laws,” he told WDR, adding: “The bishops will have to answer to a state court. We, those affected, have been demanding that for a long time.”
The statement of claim is now with the District Court of Cologne. When asked by WDR, the archdiocese pointed out that in October 2021 it had called for other victims of Priest Jansen. The diocese did not answer questions about the specific allegations from Georg Menne’s lawsuit. It only states in general terms that it wishes to “provide the necessary help and support to each individual affected”.
Source: wdr.de