Franz Hengsbach was one of the most famous Catholic clergy in post-war history – and is now suspected of abuse. In 1958 he founded the Ruhr Diocese of Essen and led it until his death in 1991. Pope John Paul II appointed him cardinal in 1988. Hengsbach was also a military bishop for decades and founded the Latin America relief organization Adveniat.
Among other things, a now 86-year-old woman accuses Franz Hengsbach and his brother Paul, who was also a priest, of sexual abuse. The Diocese of Essen and the Archdiocese of Paderborn, where Hengsbach was previously an auxiliary bishop, jointly made the allegations public on Tuesday. If they prove true, Franz Hengsbach would be the first German cardinal to be proven to have committed abuse. The Diocese of Essen calls the allegations “serious.”
Accusations were rated as “not plausible”.
Two allegations relate to Hengsbach’s time in Essen, one allegation relates to his time in Paderborn. In October, according to Essen diocese spokesman Ulrich Lota, a person contacted the Essen diocese contact person and stated that he had suffered a sexual assault by Hengsbach in 1967. The incumbent Bishop of Essen, Franz-Josef Overbeck, then initiated investigations – including in the Archdiocese of Paderborn, Hengsbach’s home diocese. And they found what they were looking for there too, in the form of an incident from June 2011.
At that time, according to the Archdiocese of Paderborn, a woman reported to the abuse commissioner at the time and stated that she had been abused by Franz Hengsbach and his brother Paul in 1954 when she was 16 years old. Paul Hengsbach was also a priest in the Archdiocese of Paderborn; he died in 2018. According to the files, Paul Hengsbach was questioned in the Archbishop’s General Vicariate in 2011 and denied everything. “Due to the overall circumstances, the accusations were ultimately assessed as implausible, although it was noted that the alleged victim remembered the external circumstances precisely,” the Archdiocese of Paderborn announced on Tuesday.
Those affected are called upon to come forward
The case was handed over to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome for further examination, but it did not initiate any proceedings. Looking back, the plausibility assessment at the time “unfortunately has to be clearly questioned,” says the Archdiocese of Paderborn. Paul Hengsbach’s personal files were then examined there – and another case was found in his case too.
As early as 2011, the diocese of Essen was informed by an authority of allegations of abuse against Franz Hengsbach, says Ulrich Lota South German newspaper. The abuse officer immediately sought contact with the person. In 2014, the person withdrew the accusation against Cardinal Hengsbach through his lawyer.
Bishop Overbeck called on those affected to come forward: “If you have suffered sexual violence at the hands of Cardinal Hengsbach, please contact the designated contact persons in the diocese of Essen,” said Overbeck. “The same also applies if you know of information that could be helpful for further processing.”