The diocese confirmed receipt of the so-called official liability claim on Thursday at the request of the Catholic News Agency (KNA).
According to a spokesperson for Essen Regional Court, the diocese has until October to respond to the lawsuit. It remains to be seen when the trial will begin.
The plaintiff was abused by priest H., whose case is known throughout Germany. The priest abused minors in at least four places in North Rhine-Westphalia and Upper Bavaria.
In 1980, he was transferred from the diocese of Essen to the archdiocese of Munich and Freising.
At the time, Joseph Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI, was Archbishop of Munich.
Despite a court conviction and an expert opinion that warned against working with children, he was reassigned to parish pastoral care. H. was only removed from this position in 2010.
Lives in the Ruhr diocese again
H. has lived in the diocese of Essen again since 2020. He is no longer allowed to pursue his profession and can no longer call himself a priest.
A further action for damages for pain and suffering is pending before the Traunstein Regional Court against the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.
Last year, the Cologne Regional Court awarded a man who had been abused during his time as an altar boy the highest compensation for pain and suffering for a victim in the church sector to date, totalling 300,000 euros.
Since then, several people have filed claims for compensation for pain and suffering. Many of those affected consider the voluntary payments made by the church to be too low in recognition of their suffering.