Church and Abuse - an arduous process (Bernhard Hohlbein)
Lecture at the University Social Tuesday
2025-01-23 As part of the University Social Tuesday, Prof. Dr. Bernhard Hohlbein (Leuphana Law School) gave a lecture at the Lüneburg Museum on the topic: “Church and abuse - God be praised!”. In his lecture, Hohlbein shed light on the legal processing of church abuse in Germany.
©Leuphana/Jannis Muser
The painstaking reappraisal of the church
Hohlbein began by outlining how the Catholic Church has come to terms with the past 15 years or so, with a focus on Germany - starting with the revelations at the Canisius College in Berlin in 2010, various bishops' conferences, papal statements, the MHG study and the independent Commission for Recognition Services. The long and arduous path makes it clear: “The Church is struggling to come to terms with itself from within.”
A sensational case, in which an archdiocese was sentenced to pay a high amount of compensation for pain and suffering for the first time, was the starting point for the legal discussion: this ruling was groundbreaking, as it underlined the liability of the church as an independent legal entity. The speaker focused on victims' claims for compensation for pain and suffering against an archdiocese. Hohlbein explained the legal basis and showed that claims could certainly be transferred to the church as an institution, as it had entrusted its ministry to the perpetrators.
Voluntary payments have so far been insufficient
This was precisely the view of the Cologne Regional Court in its highly regarded judgment. The 65-year-old plaintiff had been tortured and abused over 320 times by a priest as a teenager over a period of 10 years. The perpetrator confessed to the acts before he died. The church paid €5,000 in compensation and a further €20,000 ten years later. According to Hohlbein, this was completely inappropriate. The court awarded the plaintiff €300,000.
The speaker judged the sum to be far too low in relation to other compensation payments for pain and suffering. In addition, he criticized the church's considerations to invoke the statute of limitations in the trial. Although this was ultimately not done, the statute of limitations considerations alone were disconcerting for an institution committed to the highest moral values: “Thank God the church did not do this - otherwise it would have been a form of moral bankruptcy.”
Legal and moral questions remain
At first glance, the amount awarded for pain and suffering seems substantial, but on closer inspection, Hohlbein explained, it is still far too low. Especially when compared with awards for pain and suffering following traffic accidents or medical malpractice cases. Especially since in the case of accidents, only negligence can generally be assumed, whereas in cases of abuse, intent is present. The speaker also referred to cases of violation of personal rights, in which high six-figure sums were awarded even for comparatively harmless injuries. Even though, from a legal point of view, it is not possible to speak of a violation of personal rights in cases of abuse, a corresponding application of the compensation amounts could be considered.
In terms of litigation, the burden of proof for plaintiffs is also a dilemma: after many years, they simply have little access to (complete) files. If the complaint is sufficiently plausible, the burden of proof should therefore be reversed.
In terms of legal policy, Hohlbein called for the public prosecutor's offices, which as prosecuting authorities are ultimately dependent on the Minister of Justice, to be encouraged to seriously investigate possible criminal offenses committed by bishops. After all, even the transfer of a suspected priest to another parish could constitute active and deliberate causation of new acts of abuse and thus aiding and abetting child abuse.
Finally, the speaker emphasized that bishops should devote more time to their management tasks - there are obvious deficits here. Regretful words were no longer enough, said Hohlbein. In order to achieve justice for those affected, there is a need for increased social awareness, legal proceedings and prosecution of the perpetrators, as well as clear signals from the church for a profound change in the way such crimes are dealt with. This is the only way to regain damaged and lost trust in the long term.