Cardinal Marx: In the abuse scandal of the Catholic Church evidence have also been in Germany destroyed. Abuse victims are outraged and are calling for consequences. By Maximiliane Koschyk, Rome.
Without a word, a group of elderly people holding on to the Piazza del Popolo in Rome posters is high, surrounded by camera crews and photographers. As teenagers and children, the protesters have in a Church institution for the deaf lived and are sexually abused. Under the Motto of “Zero Tolerance”, Zero tolerance, a protest against the previous dealings of the Catholic Church with the numerous cases of abuse under your roof. Around a hundred protesters came and almost as many reporters.
On the square in the city centre, Benjamin Kitobo. He waves a Congolese flag. “The bishops know that the time is up,” says Kitobo, comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the former Zaire, as a young man, he was abused in his home by a man of the Church miss. From his point of view, it is a global Problem of the Catholic Church, as in his case show: “The man has me abused, has done the same in Belgium and Rwanda.”
Abuse is a global Problem
Benjamin Kitobo is involved in an international organization that seeks to end the abuse by Church officials: “End Clerical Abuse” of short-ECA. The organization has also called to the Protest in Piazza del Popolo. While the protesters gather in a Central area of Rome, days on the other side of the Tiber, with the representatives of national Bishop’s conferences – in the order of the Pope.
Victims of abuse Kitobo: “The bishops know that the time is up”
Since Thursday, more than 100 Catholic are discussing in the Vatican-makers on dealing with the abuse allegations against clergy. Special indignation of an hour has taken care of prior to the start of the Zero-Tolerance-Demo-a statement of the Chairman of the German bishops ‘ conference, cardinal Reinhard Marx.
“Files, which document the terrible deeds and the Responsible would be able to call them, were destroyed or not even created,” Marx in front of his Bishop colleagues.
ECA: Marx has told us nothing about it
“It is inconceivable,” said Peter Isley, while he is running in the March on the Piazza del Popolo in the direction of the Vatican. “We met yesterday, cardinal Marx, and he has told us nothing about it.” Also, Isley is an abuse victim, is involved in ECA, and has co-organized the Zero-Tolerance-Demo.
Cardinal Marx: “files have been tampered with”
He wants to know of cardinal Marx’s why the evidence disappeared. In the most recent report of the German bishops ‘ conference for use in the treatment of the abuse scandal, nothing was mentioned of it. “Who has destroyed these files?”, ask Iseley.
A reply from the German cardinal at a press conference: “There is clear evidence that the files were tampered with.” The man, according to Marx have noted, already in the first investigations of the German abuse scandal nine years ago. “But there are no direct assignments.” You’ve learned from those mistakes. “So it shall be.”
Marx: It will be a lot of talk of what will be implemented?
Activists like Isley is not enough for such displays. He can imagine that in the decades to land long abuse and the possible systematic cover-UPS by the Catholic Church before the International criminal court: “it may interest the criminal court, that there is a world organization, the know there are in their ranks, a network of perpetrators, and destroyed all the evidence.”
Victim representatives Isley: “it may interest the criminal court”
Until Sunday, the bishops want to days in Rome, then the conference will end with a worship service and an address by Pope Francis. “We have to take decisions, that was the sense,” says Reinhard Marx. He understood the allegation by the victims ‘ associations, in the Church a lot of talk, but little implemented. Because, I need to present unfortunately, these associations right.”
However, the protesters in front of the gates of the Vatican expect something else. They demand of the bishops deeds, instead of words.