More than 420 cases of abuse documented in German Catholic diocese

A study on sexual abuse in the Catholic diocese of Essen in western Germany documented some 423 cases of sexual abuse, far more than previously thought.

The Munich-based IPP institute on Tuesday identified some 201 culprits - mostly priests from the area and other dioceses - in a report that took three years to investigate and write.

According to the IPP, researchers analysed all personnel files, including secret files, since the founding of the diocese in 1958 and conducted numerous interviews with victims, experts and diocesan executives.

The independent study is primarily concerned with the framework conditions that made sexualized violence by clerics possible, in some cases over many years.

"Abuse is not only a problem that regards perpetrators, but a systematic problem in the Church," said local Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck just before the publication of the report.

The Essen diocese, with around 720,000 Catholics in the Ruhr region and Sauerland, describes itself as the smallest diocese in Germany in terms of area.

As of 2020, 99 people across the diocese were known to have been victims of sexual abuse, and 63 diocesan priests were accused at that time.

In addition to the cases that have now come to light, there are probably a considerable number of unreported cases.