Two of the three abuse commissioners in the diocese of Augsburg have announced their resignation. The qualified psychologists Angelika Hauser and Rupert Membarth accused the diocese leadership of the Augsburg General lack of willingness to provide information. The two want to resign from their positions at the end of April. The diocese rejected the allegations in the report. “Unfortunately, to this day I have not been able to recognize that the process of dealing with sexual abuse in the diocese of Augsburg, which Bishop Bertram once described as his “matter of the heart”, is being pursued with the necessary seriousness and genuine desire to educate,” the newspaper quoted from a letter from the two Experts to the diocese leadership.
When asked by the newspaper, the diocese expressed surprise and regretted that no clarifying discussions could have been held. “The diocese of Augsburg regrets the resignation of Ms. Hauser and Mr. Membarth and thanks them for the extraordinarily demanding work they have done so far.” It further explained: “We firmly reject the accusation that the Diocese of Augsburg lacks a genuine, proactive willingness to educate.” Every individual case is “taken very seriously and meticulously handled” by the responsible people.
Membarth said in the newspaper interview: “People are still trying to wait things out. On the other side are those affected and their long suffering.” And further: “In terms of balance, I have to say: our work has been made more difficult.” This meant they had no access to the personal files of accused clerics, said Hauser, and went on to explain that she had not been able to detect a genuine and determined desire to investigate. In her work she encountered mistrust and disinterest from the diocese leadership. “I have lost faith that anything will change in the existing framework conditions.”
The third abuse commissioner, Andreas Hatzung, expressed regret in the Augsburg General the resignation of his colleagues, but also said that he could essentially understand the step. “I still see myself as being able to carry out my role as an independent contact person.” Hauser and Membarth were introduced as new abuse commissioners in September 2022. Since then, according to the newspaper, they have advised almost 20 affected people. Their tasks included accepting reports of cases of abuse, carrying out an initial assessment of their plausibility and informing those affected about assistance.