A statue of late cardinal accused of abuse removed from outside a German cathedral

BERLIN — A statue of a deceased German cardinal used to be removed from its perch outside Essen Cathedral in western Germany on Monday, days after allegations of sexual abuse many years in the past changed into public.

The accusations towards Cardinal Franz Hengsbach, who died in 1991, added to a long-running scandal over abuse via clergy that has shaken the German church.

Last week, the Essen diocese stated there have been suspicions that Hengsbach could have abused a 16-year-old lady within the Fifties when he used to be an auxiliary bishop in within reach Paderborn, and that a lady had additionally accused him of abusing her in 1967 when he used to be bishop of Essen — a activity that he held for 33 years.

In a letter to parishes launched on Friday, present Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck apologized for his errors in dealing with the allegations.

He stated he had heard of one accusation in 2011 and did not anything after the Vatican decided that it used to be no longer believable. “I must now admit that the accusations were misjudged in 2011 and that those affected were wronged,” he wrote. A additional allegation that got here to Overbeck’s consideration in March brought about church officers to revisit the case.

The diocese determined on Friday to take away the larger-than-life statue of Hengsbach, which used to be unveiled in 2011. On Monday morning, a crane lifted it onto a truck, German news company dpa reported. It is to be installed garage.

In 2018, a church-commissioned record concluded that no less than 3,677 other folks have been abused via clergy in Germany between 1946 and 2014. More than part of the sufferers have been 13 or more youthful, and just about a 3rd served as altar boys.