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September 9, 2010
Bishop Mixa under fire for sexual abuse scandal comments
Published: 19 Feb 10 12:30 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20100219-25369.html
Augsburg Bishop Walter Mixa on Friday faced continuing criticism for claiming the sexual revolution was partially to blame for the widespread abuse of children at German Catholic schools.
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“The leadership hasn’t realised how this looks to the congregation,” said an unidentified member of the Augsburg diocese council.
No stranger to controversy, Mixa sparked outrage this week for saying the systematic sexual abuse recently uncovered at several Catholic schools could be traced to the promotion of more liberal attitudes towards sex.
“The so-called sexual revolution, in which some especially progressive moral critics supported the legalisation of sexual contact between adults and children, is certainly not innocent,” he told the Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung.
The Catholic theologian Uta Rank-Heinemann told the website of news magazine Focus on Thursday that Mixa was essentially trying to shirk the blame for the horrible sexual abuse.
“The important thing is that someone else is responsible,” she said.
The abuse scandal that was uncovered at Berlin’s prestigious Canisius school last month continues to grow, with around 50 former students claiming they were sexually abused in the 1970s and 1980s.
But lawyers for victims have said more than 115 people across the country have since come forward with allegations of abuse by up to 12 different priests and teachers at other Catholic institutions too.
The Local (news@thelocal.de)
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Your comments about this article:
Thank you to "Der Spiegel" and i look forward to a similar exposee of the Polish child abusers .
The zeitgeist is telling me that the hypocrites are on the defensive and i am so pleased.
They claim to be concerned about the afterlife but they act with an intense interest in power and good living during this life. Their 'apologies' for the sex abuse of children trusted to their care are worthless and intended only for public relations. They have known about the abuses for decades ( if not 100s or 1000s of years) and managed them in the interests of the catholic church and not the victims, with an annual budget for shush money and practised intimidation techniques.
Organised religions are a nonsense. Believe in a god or gods if you wish but how can you look to these hypocritical anti-democrats as a guide to ethical behaviour?
Maybe Polish are not like Germans...
In fact, there's a fact they have no sadistic pleasures as Germans do.
You know, history...
If only Germans are sadists, a comment which is clearly false on the face, how to you explain the sex abuse scadals in Ireland, Canada the US etc.
How do you explain the abuse of minorities, including Germans and Jews in Poland? As any objective observor with even limited knowledge of human behavior or history can attest abuse of those in Power are not limited to Catholics, Priests or Germans.
Public schools, priasons reform institutions, military organizations and orphans homes have always been full of abuse. Wherever there is a place where people have power over others abuse often occurs.
On the whole the Catholic Church has done much to feed the hungry and teach children where there is no public education. Criminals should be punished and children protected no matter who causes the harm.
Poles are very much like Germans because they are humans and humans are capable of many abuses. The only differance is that the Germans are better organized and there are more of them.
"Poles are very much like Germans because they are humans and humans are capable of many abuses." Some of them, humans, are more than others capable of abuses. More capable because...are better organized. Because are better...
Better.
I never said only Germans are sadist. But I can t stop thinking. Ok, this is not the Germans problem, this is the modern world problem. It s funny how some people look from above
I agree this is a world problem. I can only hope and pray that the Catholic Church World Wide takes steps to correct this problem and compensate the victims wherever they are found.
It is now obvious that the Catholic Church will cover up this heinous crime. It is difficult to see how diplomatic efforts will cut though the mire of obfuscation that the Catholic Church has naturally thrown up. It will not serve them too well however and they know it.
We will go for your errant priests and we will prosecute.
Have no fear.
Jorgens, the Catholic church is NOT forthcoming in the least. This is a victim/survivor advocacy issue, there is way more of this sort of work due to campaigning by people like Sinead O'conner in the 80's.