Asked in an interview by the Cologne archdiocese’s website domradio.de on the day after the Taizé Community admitted to past cases of sexual abuse by community brothers, Taize prior Brother Alois said “We cannot be absolutely sure” that there are no cases of sexualised violence in Taize today.
The Community published on its website on 4 June that there were five cases of sexual assault upon minors between the 1950s and the 1980s by three different brothers, two of whom have since died. The community hoped this would encourage further possible victims to come forward. As far back as 2010, the Community had posted a contact address for anyone who wished to report abuse in the Community, Br Alois said.
“In our contacts with victims we have learned how important it is for them that someone should listen to them unconditionally and above all not doubt what they tell us,” the prior told domradio.de .
Asked why the abuse had remained undiscovered for so long and why the Community had only published the cases now if it had had indication of it as long ago as 2010, Br Alois replied:
“I above all wanted to listen to the victims and to believe what they were telling me. We wanted to show that we were taking what had happened to them seriously. At the same time, those concerned did not want their cases made public. As time went by, however, it became clear to me that we could not leave it at that. We owe it to the victims and their families and to all those who trust us and bring their young people to us to talk openly about [the abuse].”
Asked whether the third perpetrator would be able to remain a member of the Community, Br Alois said the man was no longer able to look after himself and the Community therefore felt responsible for him.
Asked in how far the abuse cases would harm Taizé’s claim to be an open and unburdened place for prayer and exchange for young people from all over the world, Br Alois replied:
“It is true that many young people place a great deal of trust in us. The burden of these sexual abuse cases weighs the heavier. But we are convinced that we can only do justice to young people’s trust by being open about what happened. Perhaps it will also help them not to idealise Taizé and us brothers. We would like to see the Taizé meetings firmly anchored in reality so that young people can see Taizé as a place they can trust.”
Loading ...
