German Catholic Cathedral to Compensate 100s of Choir Child Abuse Victims

The Regensburg "Cathedral Sparrows" choir in 2014. Photo: DPA.

DPA/The Local

Victims of child abuse at the hands of Regensburg cathedral choir priests and teachers are set to receive compensation ranging between €5,000 to €20,000 by the end of next year.

A scandal that first emerged into the public light in 2010 will soon see some good news for hundreds of victims, as the Regensburg diocese announced on Wednesday it would be offering them each between €5,000 and €20,000 in compensation.

“This is a sign that we take this very seriously,” Regensburg bishop Rudolf Voderholzer said at a joint press conference with victims groups, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

"You should believe that this causes me pain, that every single case hurts my soul... I cannot undo what was done, and can only ask those affected for forgiveness."

As of this month, 422 former singers in the cathedral's boys' choir have come forward to report abuse to an investigative team, which began examining the reports last year in cooperation with the diocese.

The church and victims' groups also plan to set up an independent counseling centre for those affected. This was something the victim advocacy groups had strongly requested, so that those who were abused would not have to turn to someone from the Catholic church, or someone related to it, for help.

The victims were members of the “Cathedral Sparrows” choir between 1945 and the 1990s, and report that priests and teachers physically abused them. At least 65 have reported sexual abuse.

But experts estimate that the total number of victims could be much higher, with the leading lawyer on the investigation stating in January that one-third of the 2,100 students between the 1950s and early 1990s were likely subject to violence - or about 700 people.

    Regensburg Cathedral

The scandal in the Regensburg church started to unravel in 2010, when nationwide reports of abuse by priests were sparked by a case in Berlin.

A school there announced that around 50 former students had reported they were sexually abused by priests. Afterwards, lawyers for victims came forward with allegations of abuse at dozens of other Catholic institutions.

The two men first implicated in the abuse in Regensburg both died in 1984. One suspect, who was a religion teacher and the institution's assistant leader, was removed from service in 1958. The other man was reportedly censured in 1971.

The diocese of Regensburg announced last April that it would cooperate with victims' organisation White Ring to investigate sexual and physical abuse at the Domspatzen choir. At the start of the year, the church said it would pay victims €2,500 each in compensation.

The new compensation scheme announced on Wednesday was the result of intense negotiations between church representatives and victims' groups.

“We came in with a list of demands, which we knew were very high. But as of today, this list has been fulfilled,” said 56-year-old Alexander Probst, who is one of the victims.

“We have dreamed of this for years.”

Another Priest Sued in Guam for Child Rape

New priest named in Guam child sex abuse claim

Neil Pang | Guam Daily Post News Staff 

12TH SUIT FILED: Documents filed by plaintiff attorney David Lujan name Robert Aguon Perez as the 12th claimant in a series of suits filed on behalf of child sexual abuse survivors against various named and unnamed parties with in the Archdiocese of Agana including Archbishop Anthony Apuron, former Guam priest Rev. Louis Brouillard and deceased Guam priest Rev. Antonio Cruz. Post file photo

A 12th complainant claiming child sexual abuse against Archdiocese of Agana clergy filed litigation for damages in the Superior Court of Guam yesterday.

Documents filed by plaintiff attorney David Lujan name Robert Aguon Perez as the 12th claimant in a series of suits filed on behalf of child sexual abuse survivors against various named and unnamed parties with in the Archdiocese of Agana including Archbishop Anthony Apuron, former Guam priest Rev. Louis Brouillard and deceased Guam priest Rev. Antonio Cruz.

Perez's complaint adds yet another name, Rev. David Anderson, to the growing list of named archdiocesan clergymen who have been accused of child sexual abuse by former altar boys.

According to court documents, Perez was abused at the St. Jude Rectory between the years 1982 and 1985 by former Guam priest Rev. David Anderson, who served as a priest at the Sinajana Parish at the time. Documents further add that the abuse continued throughout 1985 to 1986 at the Father Duenas Memorial School, where Anderson taught theology and where Perez attended when he was around 14 or 15 years old.

Details in the suit state that Anderson had continued access to Perez while at the Sinajana Parish where the former Guam priest would obtain permission from Perez's parents to have Perez sleep over at the rectory. Documents note that "whenever (Perez) slept at the rectory, Anderson sexually molested and raped him" and adds that while the abuse started when Perez was 11, it escalated to rape when Perez was 12 or 13.

'Sexually molested and raped'

The suit states that Perez was "repeatedly sexually molested and raped by Anderson" during the period that both were occupants of the FDMS campus.

Perez's case marks the 12th such filing against the Archdiocese of Agana, names the third priest to be identified thus far and is the second to allege rape in addition to child sexual abuse.

In addition to the suit filed by Walter Denton, Perez's complaint is only the second to specifically claim sexual penetration as a detail of the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of Guam clergy.

On Nov. 1, Denton filed a similar suit against the Archdiocese of Agana that alleged rape via sexual penetration by Apuron in 1977, when Denton was an altar boy at the Agat Parish where Apuron ministered at the time.

Perez's complaint joins the six filed so far against Brouillard, the four filed against Apuron and marks the 12th filed against the Archdiocese of Agana and other unnamed entities and parties.

Like the suits before it, Perez's suit also implicates up to five unnamed entities and up to 45 unnamed individuals. These entities are insurance companies that provided liability coverage to the archdiocese.

Meanwhile the individuals are those who allegedly aided or abetted the abuse but who are unknown at this time. The complaint can be amended to identify these individuals at a later date, the suit stated.

Each of the suits further included a demand for jury trial and relief in the form of an unspecified amount in damages to be determined at trial.