CNA Newsroom, Jan 30, 2024 / 10:52 am (CNA).
In light of a Protestant abuse study unveiled in Germany, a Catholic lay group has called into doubt the “persistent narrative of the Synodal Way attributing systemic causes of abuse to specifically Catholic factors.”
Published on Jan. 25, the ForuM study identified 1,259 accused individuals and 2,174 survivors of abuse since 1946 within the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), according to a report by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner. This study’s findings starkly contrast with the claims of an “alleged Catholic-specific dimension of sexual abuse,” stated “Neuer Anfang,” a German lay group critical of the Synodal Way.
The German Synodal Way, which voted for women’s ordination and transgender ideology, among other issues, linked its resolutions to the MHG Study, an investigation of clerical sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Germany.
However, Neuer Anfang has stated that “critics have consistently challenged the scientific validity of such a connection.” As CNA Deutsch reported, a noted medical expert also raised concerns in this context.
‘No monocausal connection’
Following the publication of the Protestant study last week, abuse expert Father Hans Zollner told German agency KNA: “There is no monocausal connection between certain church structures and abuse; it is much more complex.”
Zollner was part of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Children until 2023 and headed the Institute of Anthropology at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
The abuse expert said, according to CNA Deutsch, it was “certainly not wrong to think about what has facilitated sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and hindered clarification and how this should be changed.” However, he warned, “it is too short-sighted to think that married priests or more women in the leadership of the Church would in themselves prevent abuse.”
Neuer Anfang emphasized the presence of systemic causes of sexual abuse that transcend denominational boundaries, such as power imbalances, unclear role patterns, and the potential for manipulation in asymmetrical relationships.
“These structural factors, which are conducive to abuse, are not unique to the Catholic Church or any single denomination. They are cross-institutional, prevalent wherever children and young people are involved — in churches of all denominations, as well as in sports and educational settings.”
Democracy and synodality
The German bishops will debate the Synodal Way in their next plenary assembly in Augsburg from Feb. 19–22. This meeting is expected to be a critical juncture, as the bishops will vote on a committee with the goal of introducing a permanent Synodal Council to oversee the Church in Germany.
Ahead of the gathering, Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, the German bishops’ conference president, wrote that the Church must “look for suitable meeting formats and participation procedures” that “enable as many people as possible to be seriously involved in consultations and decisions,” CNA Deutsch reported.
In this context, Bätzing wrote, modern democracy, with its recognition of human dignity and the separation of powers, the welfare state, and rule of law, should not “give rise to fears in the Church.”
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I’m probably missing something important but the Cross in the photo here reminds me of a flyswatter.
Clerical abuse as the issue necessitating the German Synodal Way was a crock from the beginning.
Bishop Batzing does a credible imitation of a resuscitated cadaver…
The proposed “permanent synodal council” recalls the 16th Century when the now-disinterred Martin Luther established a territorial German council which, by definition, excluded anything having to do with Church unity or the papacy. And which is why Pope Francis earlier offered the rebuke to Batzing & Co. that “we don’t need two Protestant (c)hurches in Germany.”
In yesteryear, the Protestant churches (sic “ecclesial communions”) became thoroughly territorial. Then, the local bishops’ roles were transferred to the secular rulers of the territories (breaking the Apostolic Succession). By comparison, today’s middle-ground muddle is not to retain the consistory courts of history’s individual lay rulers, but still to install a broader, permanent, and now more mongrel council—still quarantined from the papacy or any evidence of the universal Church. And, moreover, to include non-celibate priests and pseudo-ordained priestesses, both alongside a largely secular membership from the radicalized laity.
All this irregularity (!) with the double-speak claim to “be Catholic but in a different way.”
Perhaps the council’s charter will effuse about 5,000 words, symmetrically the same length as the pseudo-blessing of “irregular couples” under Fiducia Supplicans—which apparently (?) has failed to deter tribal Germania.
Why don`t they all dig deeper and ask what had pornography to do with the abuse of children? How many of the abusers used porn? Did the porn make them as individuals feel small that they had to act out their sexual fantasies on little children. I have been saying this for over 40 years but either no one wants to admit it or the porn industry has so much money that they pay to keep it quiet!
Regarding the issue of clergy sex abuse, I recommend reading Bill Donahue’s book “ The Truth about Clergy Sexual Abuse”. He does a very candid and honest analysis of the entire issue.
“…This work unpacks the history and root causes of the clergy sex abuse scandals in the United States. Building on decades of data and research, author Bill Donohue, who holds a doctorate in sociology, tells the story from a fresh angle and calls us to rethink our assumptions about the Church”s handling of these horrific abuses.The Truth about Clergy Sexual Abuse challenges many myths about the scandals, demonstrating that the abuse of minors is a problem that haunts virtually every institution–religious and secular–where adults interact with young people. The work also provides compelling evidence of the great progress that the Church has made in preventing abuse, contrary to public perceptions. Indeed, the media, Hollywood, and activist lawyers have poisoned the public mind with tales of old cases, giving the impression that nothing has changed.Donohue investigates at length the central role that homosexuality played in the scandal. While homosexuality does not cause sexual abuse, the prevalence of emotional and sexual immaturity among homosexual clergy explains why they committed most of the molestation. Indeed, all of the educational institutions of the Catholic Church, including the seminaries, have been affected by the sexual revolution that began in the 1960s, and this book explores the pernicious effects of dissent from Catholic sexual morality.”