Sexualized Violence in the Church: Ignorance and Cover-ups

The Freiburg abuse report accuses the former Archbishops Saier and Zollitsch of serious misconduct. Both are said to have ignored and deliberately covered up numerous cases of sexualised violence.

“It gives the impression that those responsible simply ignored the problems,” is the conclusion of the authors of the 600-page Freiburg abuse study. Both the late Archbishop Oskar Saier (1978 – 2002) and his successor, the Archbishop emeritus and long-time chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Robert Zollitsch (2003 – 2014), are said to have deliberately covered up cases of sexual violence for decades and even violate the applicable church law for example by not reporting cases of abuse to Rome after it became mandatory.

24 cases under the magnifying glass

Overall, the report speaks of more than 250 priests who are guilty or accused of abuse in the Archdiocese of Freiburg. The number of victims is given as at least 540. The study focuses on 24 exemplary cases that demonstrate the structures of dealing with sexualized violence.

Again and again, as the authors emphasize, a kind of esprit de corps prevailed. He declared the image of the Catholic Church to be virtually untouchable, while the suffering of those affected played virtually no role. Central to this attitude is Archbishop Saier’s statement, which has been documented several times: “I don’t let anything get past my priests”.

Files manipulated, perpetrators strengthened

Especially with regard to Zollitsch, the report speaks of “failure”. Already as head of human resources of his predecessor, the archbishop emeritus of Freiburg deliberately covered up cases of abuse. The repeated hint “Do it, Robert!” he helped Saier to “conceal” and “hide” when it was a question of protecting the reputation of the church.

In addition, files were manipulated and perpetrators – even if they had already been convicted – had their backs strengthened. “Those affected have played no role for years,” said the authors of the abuse study.

The incumbent archbishop, Stephan Burger, was shocked. He also explained that he had initiated canonical steps against Zollitsch, the consequences of which the Vatican must now examine – a procedure whose results should be followed with interest.

Reappraisal still in church hands?

As expected, those affected were dismayed. You once again spoke of the church as a “safe haven for perpetrators” in which “abused children and injured children’s souls for decades” had no meaning. Precisely because the Freiburg study focuses on the intensive analysis of exemplary individual cases, it adds an important and hitherto less well-examined aspect to the systemic sexualized violence in the Catholic Church.

In addition, in view of the cold-heartedness that has been discussed in detail, the question should be discussed again as to whether the Catholic Church should continue to be left to deal with its transgressions itself – or whether it should be placed in state care.