Two of three abuse commissioners in the diocese of Augsburg have announced that they will resign from their jobs at the end of April. They accuse the diocese, right up to Bishop Bertram Meier, of a lack of willingness to provide information. The spokesman for the “Eckiger Tisch” initiative for those affected, Matthias Katsch, describes the decision of the qualified psychologists Angelika Hauser and Rupert Membarth as “indeed unique.” The diocese rejected the allegations in a statement.
The Augsburger Allgemeine quoted from a letter from the psychologist Membarth, who could see “no committed effort on the part of the diocese leadership” to proactively deal with cases of sexual violence. Hauser’s letter to the diocese announcing her resignation is available to the SZ. The psychologist writes: “Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to recognize that the process of dealing with sexual abuse in the diocese of Augsburg, which Bishop Bertram once described as a matter close to his heart, is being pursued with the necessary seriousness and real desire to educate.”
In an interview with the SZ, Hauser criticized the fact that church structures made it more difficult to come to terms with abuse. Just the fact that she didn’t receive any training was disturbing. “No one from the diocese approached us.” The same thing continued in communication with the diocese leadership. There is a discrepancy between the statements from the diocese about how important it is to come to terms with it and the actual action. Hauser criticizes a lack of transparency and poor manners. Some of them didn’t receive answers at all, some of them were sent by email, and they weren’t included in crucial processes. “There needs to be an open, self-critical, perhaps humble attitude in the Augsburg diocese leadership,” complains Membarth in an interview with the Augsburg General. “In summary, I have to say: our work has been made more difficult.”
The diocese’s third abuse commissioner, Andreas Hatzung, wants to keep his post. He tells the SZ that he agrees with the criticism in individual cases, but not generally and not with this clarity. As a lawyer, he sees his job as an abuse representative as being to support those affected as a contact person, to hold discussions with them, to help with applications for financial benefits, for example, and to arrange discussions with higher-ranking clergy. “I can do this regardless of the conditions in the diocese.” He also finds it a shame that it is apparently not possible in the diocese to launch appeals in individual parishes to encourage other affected people who had not yet dared to take this step to come forward. He could also understand the criticism from Hauser and Membarth when it comes to the lack of access to files.
However, the diocese says that the data protection hurdles do not just affect Augsburg, but all German dioceses. According to the new personnel file regulations that came into force on January 1, 2022, the commission of the Association of German Dioceses has already called for strict compliance with the regulations, according to which there has been no right to inspect files since then. This serves the interest and protection of the victims. Hauser emphasizes, however, that abuse officers in other Bavarian dioceses were of course given access to files.
Even when you resign there are misunderstandings
The diocese further explains that clarification and processing are not the responsibility of the independent contact persons, but instead of the members of the independent processing commission. “The associated certain reluctance of the diocese towards the contact persons should not be misunderstood.” The diocese firmly rejects the accusation that the Diocese of Augsburg lacks the proactive desire to educate people. Each individual case is taken very seriously and meticulously handled by those responsible. Last but not least, the current independent educational project, the abuse study for the Diocese of Augsburg, speaks against the accusation, the specific focus of which is on the victims instead of the perpetrators, which goes back directly to the Independent Investigation Commission in the diocese and the independent advisory board for those affected in Augsburg.
How disturbed the communication between the church and abuse commissioners in Augsburg is is shown by the diocese’s accusation that it only found out about the resignation through a press inquiry late on Monday evening. Not true, emphasizes Hauser: She had already submitted her letter of resignation on Monday morning.