Abuse at choir school far worse than feared

An interim report on the ongoing investigations into the abuse of minors at the famous “Domspatzen” choir school in Regensburg which shows that 129 more victims have come forward since January this year, was presented to the press by Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg on 12 October, writes Christa Pongratz-Lippitt.

In January, Ulrich Weber, an independent lawyer called in by the diocese, reported that three times the official number of abuse cases published in the diocesan report in 2015 had come to light and the number of cases in January was 231.

Now, nine months later, Weber has again upgraded this figure and has also warned that there is a large number of unrecorded cases. He estimates the total number of cases to be between 600 and 700 victims. The former Bishop of Regensburg and present prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, has refused to comment on the increase in the number of victims.