The investigative commission of the Catholic Church in
Iceland presented its report on Friday, confirming that Rev. Ágúst
Georg, principal of the church-run elementary school Landakotsskóli, and
one of its teachers, Margrét Müller, abused their pupils.
The commission questioned 30 of the school’s former
pupils and people who had joined the Catholic Church’s summer camps as
children.
Eight of them stated they had been sexually abused and 27 that
they had been subject to or witnessed mental abuse, ruv.is reports.
Hjördís Hákonardóttir, who chairs the commission, said the report is a serious blow to the reputation of the Catholic Church in
Iceland.
It reveals that Joannes Gijsen, who served as Bishop of
the Catholic Church in Iceland 1996-2007, destroyed a letter from a man
who described how he was abused by Rev. Georg, ruv.is reports.
In doing so, the commission considers Gijsen to have
failed his obligations; he should have launched an independent
investigation by specialists into the matter.
In a written statement to the commission, Gijsen
explained that at the time he had talked the matter through with the man
who sent the letter.
Gijsen stated that the man had written that he believed
Rev. Georg had sought a sexual relationship with him but that he wasn’t
sure.
They had therefore jointly decided to drop the case and destroy
the letter.
In 2010, Gijsen was accused of sexual violations while
teaching at a school of the Catholic Church in Holland in the 1950s and
1960s. He has denied all accusations.