The Catholic priest Lorenz Wolf has come under criticism for his controversial approach to dealing with cases of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. This now also affects an office that he holds in addition to his church duties – that of Chairman of the Broadcasting Council of the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation. From the point of view of the Green member of the state parliament, Sanne Kurz, who herself is a member of the committee, Wolf is so heavily burdened by the latest findings on how to deal with cases of sexual abuse that he is no longer acceptable as head of the broadcasting council. “I think he shouldn’t even chair the next Broadcasting Council meeting,” said Kurz when asked by the SZ. “I think he’s no longer in control. It would be nice if he were aware of that and if he explained himself before the next meeting and said that the deputy chairman could please chair the meeting take over.”
The FDP parliamentary group in the state parliament demands Wolf’s resignation. “In his many important offices, he made a significant contribution to the fact that serious abuse offenses were covered up and played down,” said the group’s media policy spokesman, Helmut Markwort, on Tuesday.
The member of parliament Inge Aures (SPD), who also sits on the broadcasting council, said that the allegations from the report were serious. However, she did not demand a resignation: “I assume that Dr. Wolf himself has enough character to assess his position accordingly.” Aures pointed out that there was “nothing to criticize so far” about Wolf’s work as chairman of the Broadcasting Council. From their point of view, a direct conflict of interest between the Church and the Broadcasting Council cannot be identified.
From the Broadcasting Council to the Board of Directors?
Aures pointed out that Wolf’s term of office would end automatically, and a new BR broadcasting council would be constituted in May. As it is said in circles of the Broadcasting Council, Wolf is said to have been asked to switch to another body soon, namely to the BR Board of Directors. His election is scheduled for February 3, at the next Broadcasting Council meeting.
From the Greens’ point of view, Wolf is also unacceptable for the Board of Directors. “The assessments in this report are so unequivocal and so clear – the experts say he has re-dated events, protected priests – I think someone who displays such a lack of integrity does not belong on such an important body as the administrative or broadcasting board of Bayerischer Rundfunk,” explains Sanne Kurz.
A report published last week by the Munich law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl accuses the church lawyer Wolf of having acted incorrectly as an official, i.e. head of the church court in the Munich archdiocese. His “clerical-friendly attitude” stands in contrast to his pronounced skeptical attitude towards the injured. Wolf has denied the allegations.
Ilse Aigner (CSU), President of the State Parliament and Chair of the BR Board of Directors, did not want to determine when SZ asked whether Wolf was acceptable for the Board of Directors. “The report is very extensive, so I ask for your understanding that I would like to deal with it in more detail before I draw any conclusions from it,” she explained. You can only evaluate the current cooperation with Wolf: “I got to know him as a very empathetic and reflective person, who I also appreciate as an advisor.”