GERMANY: Chancellor Angela Merkel demands truth and transparency in dealing with church sex abuse scandal

Record ID: 334595

  • Title: GERMANY: Chancellor Angela Merkel demands truth and transparency in dealing with church sex abuse scandal
  • Date: 18th March 2010
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (MARCH 17, 2010) (REUTERS) HIGH SHOT OF MERKEL SPEAKING
  • Embargoed: 2nd April 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAABOBXY6P07M5Q4D3S3E4J805Y
  • Story Text: The truth and transparency about everything that happened in dealing with cases of sexual abuse of children is the only way to deal with the issue, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told parliament in Berlin on Wednesday (March 17).
    "Sexual abuse of children and wards is a deplorable crime," Merkel said at a time when Germany is trying to deal with more than 200 reports of abuse at Catholic institutions.
    "I think everyone is aware that the lives of people who went through something like this takes a different course than if they had not gone through it in their early years. It stays with them for their entire life," Merkel said.
    "It makes no sense now that the first cases came up in the Catholic sector.. to limit it to one group," the chancellor told parliament, adding "it is something that has happened in many areas of society and it is certainly something that keeps on happening today, sometimes in a different shape."
    The scandal in Germany has personally drawn in Bavarian-born Pope Benedict, whose brother for 30 years ran the prestigious Regensburg choir which has been linked to cases of abuse.
    Last week, the Vatican strongly rejected suggestions that Benedict himself tried to cover up priestly child abuse when he was archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1977 to 1981.
    But the pope has been criticised in Germany for failing to condemn abuse after meeting on Friday (March 12) the head of the German Church, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch.
    A roundtable is scheduled for April 23 in Germany when Catholic and Protestant leaders, teachers, civil society and victims are set to meet.
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