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rehe report on sexual abuse in the diocese of Aachen has been public for a day, the comparable report on the actions of those responsible in the archdiocese of Cologne has been suppressed for weeks; Members of the Archdiocese’s Affected Persons Advisory Council speak of “abuse of abuse.” Against this background, on November 13, one of the Rhine’s alleged accomplices, as Archbishop of Hamburg, sits face to face with the Presidium of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK). But Thomas Sternberg, the ZdK president, sees no reason to make Stefan Heße’s actions at the “Joint Conference” of the ZdK and the German Bishops’ Conference a problem. Heße was not only concerned with many cases of abuse for a long time as head of the main department of personal pastoral care in Cologne. He is also the assistant clergyman of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK).
Daniel Deckers
in the responsible political drafting of “The present”.
Karin Kortmann, one of the vice-presidents of the ZdK, confronts Heße. He defends himself with the same nebulous declarations of innocence and ignorance that he has been reading for weeks. None of the bishops present, including Georg Bätzing, president of the episcopal conference, jumped on him. He was “in a difficult situation,” he said on Friday, November 13.
At the beginning of the new week, Sternberg is clear that he cannot contest the next general assembly of the ZdK without the Presidium responding to the latest riots. Internally, he continues to spread the opinion that Heße should be “handed over to the knife.” On Thursday morning it will be clear in which direction the President wants to lead the General Assembly. “Victims of sexual and spiritual violence in the structures of the Catholic Church need our support!” It can be read in the draft declaration of the General Assembly. But how? The ZdK does not have its own agenda, only a new declaration, which is contained in the usual phrase “We condemn – welcome – we demand” -.
“Faithful next to the Episcopal Conference”?
However, with a formulation, the Presidium has surpassed the curve. The phrase “In the process of coming to terms with the process, the Central Committee of German Catholics is loyal to the side of the German Bishops’ Conference” found outrage among members of the General Assembly. A new draft will be available Thursday evening. Two hours later, Heße declares that he will refrain from serving as assistant cleric until all allegations are cleared up. During the night a new design takes shape. The presidium now has to face requests for resignation.
In Friday’s plenary session, Sternberg is late to speak about the recent “Cologne turmoil.” In his “Status Report” he made a remarkable effort not to compromise. “If the press reports are correct, according to which the advisory council of the Archdiocese of Cologne was instrumentalized in accepting a change in strategy, then it is a very serious scandal,” he says. The archdiocese did not object to a reconstruction of these events by FAZ. Sternberg does not mention the name Woelki. It only says that anyone who advertises transparency must also ensure “proper publication.”
“Non-transparent processes” in the Archdiocese of Cologne
On the other hand, Sternberg made it very clear that he thinks little about the legal prosecution of sexual violence in German dioceses: this task should be left to historians, recommends the president of ZdK. Unlike the lawyers, who always acted on behalf, they are independent. Above all, this statement provokes contradictions in the subsequent debate. Sternberg backs down: He didn’t say that only historians should accept sexual violence. Rather, it meant that this had to be done in an interdisciplinary way. The name Heße does not play a role in pronunciation.
The motion approved by the General Assembly in the early afternoon criticizes the “non-transparent processes” in the Archdiocese of Cologne. “We demand that this be fully disclosed,” he says. In particular, the results of the Westpfahl Spilker Wastl law firm’s report should be available.
