Sexual abuse in the diocese of Münster

Team of researchers presents results of a study of the years 1945 to 2020 / Accusation of -massive failure of leadership- Between 1945 and 2020 at least 196 clerics from the diocese of Münster - specifically, 183 priests, a permanent deacon and 12 brothers in an order long under the authority of the bishop - are said to have committed acts of sexual abuse against minors. This is the central result of a study which was started in 2019 and was presented today, Monday (13 June), by a team of researchers from the University of Münster. "The bishops and other people in a position of responsibility in the diocese management knew about the acts, in some cases in detail," says Prof. Thomas Großbölting, who, together with Prof. Klaus Große Kracht, are principally responsible for the study. "These people knew of many cases - and not only since 2010, when the scandal involving child abuse made such headlines in Germany - in which priests in the diocese of Münster had been sexually abusing children, young people and those in their charge." The figure of 196 accused accounts for around four percent of all priests in the diocese between 1945 and 2020. The number of victims, say the writers of the report, is at least 610, although the actual figure is likely to be "considerably higher". Many of the victims suffered repeated sexual abuse at the hands of the perpetrators and they often felt and feel the mental and physical consequences of the abuse during their whole lives.