Essen/Munich (dpa/lnw) – After almost three years of research work, the Munich Institute for Practical Research and Project Consulting (IPP) presented a study on the abuse of children and young people in the Ruhr diocese in mid-February. The study will primarily deal with the framework conditions that have made the sexualised violence by clerics possible, IPP announced on Monday. Six careers of accused Catholic priests would be traced as an example. According to the IPP, two of those affected accompanied the research work and commented on the results at the press conference.
The study was announced in March 2020 and originally planned to last two years. However, the corona pandemic significantly delayed the necessary interviews.
It was important to him to “uncover the structural background in our church that supported acts of abuse and made it possible to cover them up later,” said Ruhr Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck when announcing the 2020 study. It’s about reviewing and improving church structures.
The research institute had access to all personnel files at work, as a diocese spokesman said. The institute acted completely independently – right up to the press conference announcing the results, which did not take place in church rooms and was moderated by a neutral person. However, Bishop Overbeck is present at the press conference and will also make a statement.
As of 2020, 99 people were known to have been victims of sexual abuse in the diocese, which was founded in 1958. 63 diocesan priests were accused at that time. The numbers are outdated. Current numbers are currently being collected, said the diocese spokesman.
