The Archdiocese of Paderborn reinstated a priest convicted of sexual abuse in pastoral care from 1971 to 2008 after his prison sentence had expired, without informing the respective parishes about the man's background.
During this time, the priest, who died in 2016, allegedly committed further offences of abuse, as the archdiocese announced on Wednesday.
According to the archdiocese, the priest, who was initially incardinated in the diocese of Aachen, was sentenced to prison in 1969 for indecency with minors, which he served in open prison in Attendorn in 1970 and 1971.
During this time, the priest continued to provide pastoral care. Two specialist medical and psychological reports and the prison governor had come to the conclusion at the time that "no further sexual offences" were to be expected in a future assignment.
The diocese of Aachen then asked the archdiocese of Paderborn to assign the priest to the territory of the archdiocese after his release from prison. "This request was granted by the then Archbishop of Paderborn, Lorenz Cardinal Jaeger," explained the archdiocese.
1991: Information about sexual contact with a young person
From 1971, the priest was initially assigned to Peckelsheim and the then deanery of Gehrden. This was reportedly followed by assignments in Letmathe (from 1975), Rüthen (from 1981) and Arnsberg (from 1991).
It was here that the priest was also retired in 2008.
During the first years of his assignment, the archdiocese had been informed of "no initiation behaviour or abusive actions" according to the files. In 1991, however, the then Archbishop Johannes Joachim Degenhardt received information that the accused had had sexual contact with a young person.
The priest was then transferred to Arnsberg.
"It was only later that the priest was ordered to avoid his former place of work," said the archdiocese.
The diocesan abuse commissioner at the time only learnt of the allegations in 2010 following a report from a family member of the person concerned.
"Several conversations were then held with the family member, but no contact could be established with the victim himself," explained the archdiocese.
In 2013, the diocese of Aachen was then informed of a further allegation against the clergyman from his time in Aachen in the early 1960s. "This accusation was dealt with by the diocese of Aachen. There was no further exchange of information about the accused clergyman between the two dioceses after that."
According to the information provided, the archdiocese only became aware of further allegations against the priest relating to his time in Paderborn after his death. "In total, two allegations known to date relate to the priest's time in Peckelsheim and two others to his time in Rüthen."
Archdiocese regrets "irresponsible use of the priest"
On Wednesday, the archdiocese regretted "the priest's irresponsible behaviour, not only from today's perspective".
The legitimate interest of the affected parishes in a comprehensive presentation of the case should now be honoured. "The archdiocese is in dialogue with the pastors of the parishes of the Archdiocese of Paderborn in which the priest was deployed." They would assess the further information and dialogue needs on site and, if desired, would be supported by the Archdiocese of Paderborn in the implementation of offers.
According to the archdiocese, a first parish meeting is to take place on 6 June in the provost parish of St. Laurentius Arnsberg. The aim is to create a common information base, to support the parish in dealing with the information and to open a dialogue on how to deal with cases of abuse in the past and today.
The files of the accused priest had also already been included in the MHG abuse study published by the German Bishops' Conference in 2018 and submitted to the research team from Paderborn University and the Independent Commission for the Reappraisal of the Archdiocese of Paderborn, which had been commissioned to conduct the reappraisal study for the Archdiocese of Paderborn.