SNAP disputes the numbers in Diocese of Muenster study that found ‘ma...
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SNAP disputes the numbers in Diocese of Muenster study that found ‘massive leadership failure’
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mmcdonnell@snapnetwork.org Mo, 13 Jun 2022 7:54:44 PM +0200
An "Mike McDonnell" <mmcdonnell@snapnetwork.org> BCC "marco.bogic" <marco.bogic@gmail.com>
(For Immediate Release June 13, 2022)
A study commissioned by the Diocese of Muenster in Germany has reported “massive leadership failure” by diocesan bishops between 1947 and 2008. The study found at least 610 vic�ms of abuse and said that the real figure is likely to be eight to ten �mes higher. 196 allegedly abusive clerics account for about 4% of all priests in the diocese between 1945 and 2020. About 5% of those were “serial” abusers, responsible for more than 10 acts each, the authors found. While we agree that the number of vic�ms is likely ten �mes higher than reported, we certainly are not convinced that there were only 196 purported clergy alleged to have abused. We are confident that the same poten�al increase applied to the number of vic�ms holds true for the number of alleged abusers. This is a staggering thought and these numbers show the clear need for immediate reform within the church in Germany. Similarly, according to a report released in the UK, there were 3000 instances of child sexual abuse reported to the Catholic Church in that country between 1970-2015. Based on SNAP’s internal analysis, we believe that there are likely as many as 5,000 vic�ms in the Diocese of Muenster alone and we hope that this ini�al news will remind those survivors that they are not alone and that there are people who will believe them and support them. According to the diocesan sta�s�cs, as of 18 July 2013, there were 1,129 priests, 296 permanent deacons, and 2,540 religious in the diocese. There are 1.9 million Catholics, not all prac�cing, spread among 300 parishes in the Diocese of Muenster. It is a rather logical conclusion to anyone who reads the report or summary that the number of vic�ms and abusers alike is astonishingly low. And yet, the figures o�en heard a�er inves�ga�ve reports into sexual abuse by ins�tu�ons, clergy, and religious are revealed, the number of alleged abusers always trends towards 10%. We hope that this report will reveal in greater detail who knew what and when so that those who were involved in perpetra�ng or enabling abuse can be iden�fied and removed from power. The best way to protect today's youth is to ensure that those Church officials who sold children’s futures for short-lived silence will be stripped of their posi�ons. The innocent and the vulnerable deserve Catholic leaders who will protect them from those who would harm them. CONTACT: Mike McDonnell, SNAP Communica�ons Manager(mmcdonnell@snapnetwork.org, 267-261-0578), Shaun Dougherty, SNAP Board President (sdougherty@snapnetwork.org, 814-341-8386) Zach Hiner, SNAP Execu�ve Director (zhiner@snapnetwork.org, 517-974-9009) (SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for vic�ms of sexual abuse in ins�tu�onal se�ngs for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org) -Mike McDonnell Communications Manager SNAP (267) 261-0578 PO Box 56539, Saint Louis, MO 63156
Received by: GR!NET
13.06.2022, 23:36