More Than 600 Minors Sexually Abused By German Catholic Priests, Finds Report

At least 5,700 individual acts of sexual abuse were committed by a total of 196 clergymen, the University of Muenster report said.

The true number of victims could be much higher, the study said

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A report by the University of Muenster released on Monday found 610 minors were sexually abused by Catholic priests in the German diocese of Muenster, AFP reported. The actual number of victims could be 10 times higher, the report said. At least 5,700 individual acts of sexual abuse were committed by a total of 196 clergymen, including 183 priests.

Historian Natalie Powroznik, who was involved in the study, said the true number of victims could be as high as 5,000 to 6,000, AFP reported.

The study said that the 196 clerics who allegedly engaged in sexual abuse account for about 4 per cent of all priests in the diocese between 1945 and 2020. The report found that five per cent of the clergymen involved were serial offenders, responsible for more than 10 acts each.

The study, commissioned by the diocese in western Germany and carried out over two-and-a-half years, pointed to a "massive leadership failure" during the tenures of the diocese's bishops between 1947 and 2008, AP reported.

"The bishops and other officials in the diocesan leadership were in some cases extensively in the know about the abuse," co-author Thomas Grossboelting said.

Three in four victims were boys, with the majority being between 10 and 14 years old. Most of the acts were committed against altar boys or at children's and youth camps.

The sexual abuse led to "considerable psychological consequences" for the victims reaching into adulthood, including depression and suicidal thoughts, with indications of attempted suicide in 27 cases, the report found.

Muenster Bishop Felix Genn, in a statement, apologised to the abuse victims even though he acknowledged that an apology "is not enough" and vowed "further consequences" in dealing with abuse.

In 2018, a church-commissioned report concluded that at least 3,677 people were abused by clergy in Germany between 1946 and 2014, AP reported.

(With inputs from agencies)