Church
Abuse scandal: Bishop of Osnabrück reported in the Vatican
The Vatican will have to deal with the behavior of Bishop Franz-Josef Bode. photo
© Oliver Weiken/dpa
Cases of abuse in the diocese had become known through an expert opinion. The bishop is now also the focus of the workup. He is said to have declared sexualized violence against minors as a “relationship”.
In connection with the processing of cases of sexual abuse in the Catholic diocese of Osnabrück, the Vatican will have to deal with the behavior of Bishop Franz-Josef Bode. The affected council has filed a canon law complaint against Bode via the responsible archdiocese of Hamburg, the joint affected council of the archdiocese of Hamburg and the dioceses of Hildesheim and Osnabrück announced on Monday.
Bode’s attitude is still more perpetrator-oriented than victim-oriented. “Bishop Bode acted contrary to clear papal guidelines and, for example, declared sexualized violence against minors as a “relationship” this year,” the statement said.
Osnabrück bishop refused to resign
The report was received on Thursday evening and forwarded by Archbishop Stefan Hess to the Apostolic Nunciature in Berlin on Friday, said a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Hamburg. The Vatican must now make a decision about Bode. The Osnabrück bishop recently refused to resign. First, the NDR in Lower Saxony reported on the ad.
The background to this is cases of abuse in the diocese of Osnabrück that have become known through a scientific report by the University of Osnabrück. In one case, a priest had sexualized violence against a young girl in a parish for years. The experts accuse the bishop of dereliction of duty: He gave the accused priest a management position in youth work in the same year that the person concerned reported the man to the bishop.