The Catholic Church in Eichstätt, Upper Bavaria, is currently being haunted by its inglorious past. A former bishop is said to have enabled a priest known to the police to escape and provided him with a cover identity overseas.
In the diocese of Eichstätt, the former bishop Alois Brems allegedly protected a priest who was wanted by the police for sexual abuse and enabled his escape. The diocese confirmed a corresponding report by the Bayern media group. According to the previous knowledge of the Independent Commission in the Diocese of Eichstätt (UAK Eichstätt), this is correct, said a spokeswoman. The diocese declined to comment on the details.
According to newspaper reports, the clergyman, who has since died like Bishop Brems, was accused of molesting girls and young women in his parishes in the 1960s. One of those affected reported the incident, and the public prosecutor’s office was informed. But according to the report, the priest was able to escape in time – he became a missionary in Africa and later in Latin America. In addition, the diocese leadership supported him in disguising himself with a different name, it said.
The former bishop Emil Stehle (1926-2017) may also play a role in the case: he was managing director of the Latin America aid organization Adveniat and later bishop of Santo Domingo in Ecuador. It was in this environment that Stehle must have met the then young priest from the diocese of Eichstätt, according to the newspaper report, which refers to the investigation files of the Cologne lawyer Bettina Janssen. She had carried out a study on behalf of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK): Stehle had therefore helped to hide priests who were criminally prosecuted for sexual abuse in Germany from the authorities.
In the 1980s, when the allegations against him had long since expired, the priest returned to his home diocese of Eichstätt and was allowed to work in a parish again for many years. The diocese of Eichstätt supports the processing commission in its concern to process the events in the diocese, the spokeswoman said. This also means that the diocese will reassess the commemoration of those responsible at the time. The diocesan leadership has begun to provide advance notice of the priest’s previous assignments. Those affected are invited to contact the diocese or the independent contacts. “The diocese is doing everything it can to process the cases of abuse and to assist those affected and victims as best as possible,” assured the spokeswoman.