German Bishop Concedes Mistakes In Abuse Case

Last updated on: December 22, 2011 at 11:04 am by

German Bishop Concedes Mistakes In Abuse Case 2011-12-22T11:04:59-07:00

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BERLIN (AP) — A bishop who leads the German church’s efforts to combat sex abuse says his own diocese made serious mistakes in failing to suspend a priest after allegations emerged against him.

Trier Bishop Stephan Ackermann wrote in an open letter Thursday that he is “personally very sorry” about the slip.

Ackermann says the diocese in January received indications of past abuse of minors by the cleric and made him take his case to prosecutors.

He says that should have been enough to suspend the priest — but it didn’t happen, apparently because he was recovering from an assault and never officially returned to work before retiring Sept. 1.

But Ackermann says the priest’s health later improved enough that he was able to attend Mass and even a kindergarten opening — and the church’s supervisory efforts fell short.

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