German report cites 3,600 clergy abuses

BERLIN — A report to be released today documents the sexual abuse of more than 3,600 people by 1,670 clergy members within Germany’s Catholic Church over a period of 68 years — and even those numbers likely underestimate the scale of the problem, the authors say.

Abuse of that magnitude constitutes one of the largest Catholic Church scandals in Europe. Evidence of widespread abuse and its cover-up has been found in every jurisdiction that has launched an investigation. Australia, Chile and a number of U.S. states are part of the growing list.

The German report was commissioned by the German Bishops’ Conference and conducted by researchers from three German universities.

It also contradicts a narrative held among some in the church that the abuse cases coming to light now are all old cases and the problem has since been addressed. The German researchers said abuse occurred throughout the period they examined, from 1946 until 2014.

“We are experiencing a very dark hour in our church’s history, which will hopefully result in a cleansing and renewal,” Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck from Essen wrote in a letter to his diocese. “The dangers are far from being exorcised. We must fear that there is and could still be sexual abuse among us.”

The report does not detail the experience of individual victims, nor does it provide the names of alleged abusers or those who helped protect them.

Critics say the study lacks the rigor of government-backed reports, such as the one released last month by Pennsylvania’s attorney general. The German researchers did not have direct access to church files and instead depended on questionnaires and other correspondence with dioceses, as well as interviews, criminal records and an anonymous online survey of victims willing to participate.