Cologne (dpa / lnw) – The new abuse commissioner of the federal government, Kerstin Claus, calls for a legally anchored “right to work up” in view of the church abuse scandals. The processing cannot be left to the churches and to chance, it needs qualitatively binding standards and a government mandate, Claus said on Tuesday on the radio program WDR 5.
“The criminal prosecution was omitted,” said Claus. The processing must therefore also apply retrospectively to statute-barred cases. She has a problem with granting impunity to the perpetrators, who have initiated more and more acts of sexualized violence.
The federal government has committed itself in the coalition agreement to strengthen the processing, said Claus. This can only really work in external structures. These should be located at their office. “We are currently working very specifically on the foundations of this law. I would like this law to be passed in 2023. It is about a reliable mandate, control and resources.”
On Monday, historians had attested to the role of complicity in the Catholic Church in the diocese of Münster. Decades of failure and frustration of justice can be proven for the diocese leadership. Convicted priests were not removed from the clergy and could have abused other children.
