Wallenfels / Bamberg (dpa / lby) – After allegations of abuse against a long-time pastor of the Upper Franconian community of Wallenfels, three other alleged victims have reported to the Archdiocese of Bamberg. The Archdiocese of Bamberg announced on Monday that five people were already known to be affected. Archbishop Ludwig Schick only found out about the allegations of abuse against the man after his death in 2005.
Last week, the Archdiocese announced that allegations of abuse against the Catholic pastor were on record as early as 1963. Those affected were asked to contact the abuse officer of the church institution.
According to a statement, Archbishop Schick emphasized that the diocese leadership at the time had committed serious omissions in accordance with today’s guidelines. From today’s point of view it is inconceivable that a priest who has been accused of such things would not be removed from office and at least punished according to canon law. After 1963 he should no longer have been employed as a chaplain and parish priest.
As the archdiocese further announced on Monday, the later Wallenfels pastor wrote letters of apology to the then archbishop and the auxiliary bishop in 1963 after the first allegations of abuse. He then went to Bolivia for several years as a pastor. From 1970 to 1995 he worked in Wallenfels (Kronach district) – first as a chaplain, then as a priest.
In 1999, another allegation of sexual abuse was raised against the clergyman. According to the Archdiocese, the case was difficult to clarify because the priest had since gone back to Bolivia. From the period between 1964 and 1999, no such allegations against him are on record. In 2003, Archbishop Ludwig Schick officially retired the now 70-year-old priest, according to the Archdiocese. In 2005 the priest died.
