A Catholic boys' boarding school in Germany on
Thursday offered ex-pupils financial compensation for physical and
sexual abuse after a special investigator said their claims were true.
Ettal Abbey, a centuries-old Benedictine monastery in the
Alps, is to set aside a fund of 500,000 euros (680,000 dollars) to pay
up to 5,000 euros to each victim, depending on the gravity of the
abuse.
Some sex abusers at the school are already dead, but
police are investigating another former teacher.
Most of the abuse
happened so long ago that the statute of limitations prevents
prosecution.
Hans-Joachim Jentsch, a retired judge, conducted the inquiry at the request of the Benedictine order of Catholic priests.
His report said seven of the men had either sexually abused or harassed boys at the school in the south-east of the country.
Eight teachers, including a former abbot, had used excessive force in
punishments. In one case a priest broke a cane while hitting a boy.
Several boys had suffered burst eardrums from blows to the head.
Revelations of sexual and other abuse in the Catholic church in
Germany began to surface one year ago.
In Belgium, Italy and the United
States, similar cases came to light last year.
Another
Catholic order, the Jesuits, has already offered similar compensation
for abuse at its schools in Germany, but the German Catholic bishops
have yet to settle indemnities for abuse at diocesan schools and other
church institutions.
Robert Koehler of the support group for
Ettal Abbey victims welcome the report as a 'milestone' in uncovering
the abuses, adding he was confident church leaders were now making the
right moves.