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AT LEAST 231 children at a famous Catholic boys’ choir in Germany were victims of physical abuse, a lawyer commissioned to investigate the scandal said today.
The Domspatzen, a 1,000-year-old choir in Regensburg, Bavaria, was dragged into the massive sexual abuse scandal plaguing the Catholic Church in 2010, when allegations of assaults that took place several decades ago went public.
The choir was run by Pope Benedict’s elder brother, Georg Ratzinger, from 1964 to 1994 when most of the claimed abuses took place.
Ratzinger has said that the alleged sexual abuse was “never discussed” in the time that he ran the choir attached to the boarding school.
Lawyer Ulrich Weber, who had been commissioned by the diocese to look into the cases, said at a press conference today that his research, which included 70 interviews with victims, uncovered abuse that took place from 1945 to the early 1990s.
“I have here 231 reports of physical abuse,” he said, announcing a figure far higher than had previously been assumed.
These ranged from sexual assault to rape, severe beatings and food deprivation, said Weber.
The reported cases of sexual abuse in Regensburg were mostly concentrated in the period of the mid to end 1970s.
Weber added that “50 victims spoke of ten perpetrators”.
The director and composer Franz Wittenbrink, a former pupil of the boarding school, had told Der Spiegel magazine in 2010 that there was a “system of sadistic punishments connected to sexual pleasure”.
Several other German institutions have also been engulfed by the ongoing clerical abuse scandal, including an elite Jesuit school in Berlin which had admitted to systematic sexual abuse of pupils by two priests in the 1970s and 1980s.
Most of the priests concerned are not expected to face criminal charges however, because the alleged crimes took place too long ago.
However, there had been calls for a change in the law and for the church to pay compensation to victims.
In February last year, the Regensburg diocese had said there were 72 victims of abuse, and had offered compensation of €2,500 each.
String them up
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
Ok so Margaret, I’ve never abused children so I say jail the lot of them
What are you on about, Margaret.
No one is without sin.
Margaret your comment is a disgrace! You’re actually allowing these sick clerics off with it!
Shame on you!
Jesus christ, Margaret what an insightful comment. Being a child molester is different scale of “sin”.
I’m just saying people should be more concerned with their own actions than the actions of others.
Margret there’s sin and there’s pure evil…that’s a stupid comment to make
Is Margaret a parody account or something?
What a disgusting attitude you have about the systematic abuse of children. Shame on you. If I was the parent of that child you’re holding I’d quickly take her from you
Margaret, would you be saying that if was someone you loved was a victim of abuse at the hands of a priest?
I am always a little suspicious about men wearing frocks,it just doesn’t seem right to me.
God will judge their actions appropriately not an online lynch mob.
David , its a troll account .
Margaret.. Child abuse is a most heinous crime.. Let he who is without sin does not apply here.. They should all be strung/stoned/hung/drawn and quartered.. And those who turned a blind eye are just as bad
An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
Troll account.
and if one of your ‘holy men’ had their way with one of your grandchildren Margaret, how would you feel then?
On the Gin Maggie?…
Margaret your blindness is truely baffling
I didn’t notice the same reaction when Sinn Féin was caught covering up abuse. This is an excuse to attack the church most of you left to rebel against your parents as teenagers.
I guess that @Glenn, but then I thought that nobody would be sick enough to use a real photo of a grandmother and their grandchild just to post. Seems I was wrong.
Liam the photo is probably taken from the internet somewhere ..
He (Alan White) trolled the Karen Buckley article too…His other accounts loves Trump too
http://www.thejournal.ie/alexander-pacteau-karen-buckley-attempted-rape-2266524-Aug2015/#comments
Paul are you speaking Margaret or the priests?
You people talk some amount of sh*te.
that sounds like you are defending or excusing their actions…
Margaret, the thing is, some people aren’t concerned about their own actions, e.g. Child abuse, so should we just let them have at it? Seeing as we are all sinners like.
Maggie you’re either a hilarious pisstake (good job) or a brainwashed old relic of a bygone era who still believes in sky fairies and cover up for peado priests (bad job).
I’ll take a handful of large rocks, so.
It sounds to me like Margaret has just finished her weekly allowance of pints….you all should ignore her she’s obviously a flake
I think Margaret is a craw thumper.
Paul.
“I am always a little suspicious about men wearing frocks,it just doesn’t seem right to me”
The same thought crosses my mind every time I see a photo of Panti Bliss.
Which is quite a regular occurrence actually.
It was the Brussels gay lobby that was the cause of his brother getting the boot out of the Vatican, the full story will appear in about 200 years from now
What Margaret means by not casting stones is if it’s a clergyman involved in child abuse we should turn a blind eye and keep the stones in our pocket for someone who isn’t a cleric. It’s religious guff for hands off the holy men
Magarte is a headcase.
@Margeret
It seems the Bible Belt has extended to the Swords area.
Turning a blind eye has always been the only answer to heinous crimes ifrom your bigoted little Roman cult!
How do you think will you be judged by your beloved “God”?
Defending sexual abuse of children is a definite moral low which makes YOU a woman without any morals!
@Margaret. As an atheist I don’t have the audacity to believe that the whole universe was created just for me. You on the other hand…….
@m.power How many people leave the church per year. Would it be near the same amount of people who die from alcohol each year – as you trolled on another Journal article earlier today – 50,000.
Now where is that breeze block…
Ah lads, I’m disappointed – a troll as obvious as that, and you’re engaging with it?
Innocent children are without sin you
f+*king troll hag. I normally don’t respond to the likes of you but you’re a disgrace to trolls even.
They succeeded, Margaret, in destroying children because or indeed thanks to people like you.
Those who invented the concept of sin are the worst sinners. Hypocrites!
Margaret you justify sin by quoting scripture.
Let me respond by also quoting scripture:
Matthew 18:6
“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”
you are one sick old sack
Jesus said child rape was unforgivable in Matt 18:6-14.
The devil loves you, Margaret. Grab your millstone.
Margaret’s a flute.
This “Margaret” is obviously a troll account. Don’t feed it.
You got crap in your brain or what?!
Abusers in the Catholic Church got away with their heinous crimes for decades because of people like you. Your defence of them makes you as guilty as they are!
My reply was in response to Margaret Power.
True, but also the bible says that ‘whosoever makes one of these little ones stumble should have a millstone hung around his neck and be thrown into the deepest sea’.
Anybody who sexually abuses little children should be severely punished.
My reply was to Margaret Power – why does it appear way down from her comment?
Recognizing that I am not without sin is not the same as condoning pedophilia and abuse of power over children by men who purport to follow the teachings of Christ. These men are evil, they are criminals, and should be punished, and the Catholic church should be made to pay reparations to the victims.
Ahhhh ur back on – The Troll.
Always wondered why he resigned.
Religion is a complete load of Bo!!ox. Manipulation of the weak and vulnerable.
€2500 compensation, they think that’s appropriate. Just shows their attitude to abuse. They should all be locked up.
Of course, as we all know and are reminded by the resident apologists, it’s just ‘a few bad eggs’. People would do well to remember the carnage this cult has wrought on children worldwide the next time they pay their fief at the collection plate, baptise their children, dress their children as brides for communion and get married in one of these child abuse centres.
@Richard Cheney……Islam has its own perverts and their activities are sanctioned by sacred text. Mohammed was a child molester haven married a 6 yr.old.
—”The moral hypocrisy is outrageous in a country where homosexuality is not only strictly forbidden but savagely punished, even between two consenting adults. However, men who sodomise young boys are not considered homosexuals or paedophiles. The love of young boys is not a phenomenon restricted to Afghanistan; homosexual pederasty is common in neighbouring Pakistan, too. In my view, repression of sexuality and extreme gender apartheid is to blame.
And in the Middle East, it’s young girls who are considered desirable and men are able to satisfy their lusts legally through child marriages. In Yemen, more than a quarter of girls are married before the age of 15. Cases of girls dying during childbirth are not unusual, and recently, one 12-year-old child bride even died from internal bleeding following sexual intercourse. In another case, a 12-year-old girl was married to an 80-year-old man in Saudi Arabia.—”
http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2010/05/06/the-hypocrisy-of-child-abuse-in-many-muslim-countries.html
As I have stated already, all three Abrahamic religions have a propensity for child abuse, I don’t know why you have chosen to off-load on me about Islam Patrick, I’m not a Muslim, I’m an Irish person who just so happens to be an atheist, I also like one teaspoon of brown sugar in my coffee and prefer granny smiths to golden delicious. It’s a pity you don’t put half of the effort into scrutinising Judaism and Christianity, specifically the Roman death cult, you might find yourself off the populist beaten track for a change.
@Patrick
All religions are bull!
Pathetic cults full of degenerates and unfortunately billions of deluded followers!
It only shows what a bunch of stupid morons most human beings are!
@Matt. Yes, I would rather have a mind opened by wonder, than a mind closed by belief. You see in my world, it’s ok for the faithful to tell their kids that they will burn in hell for all eternity if they don’t worship a supernatural sky daddy and spend their lives atoning for sins they were born with. But my kids will never hire those kids.
I hate to see your wee face popping up, O’Connor. Would you ever take the French flag off ffs. Nearly as bad as Kony at this stage.
@Richard Cheney………Almost 99% of your comments are Islam supportive and if you run with the pack expect to take some of their flak.
(Incidentally I am a life long agnostic).
You said in your initial comment ‘the carnage this cult has wrought worldwide’ caught my attention as being quite subjective as Islam covers almost 1/4 the world and China another 1/4 of the world where ‘this cult’ (of Catholicism) holds no sway. there’s a much bigger case for blaming Islam for worldwide abuse that Rome. Rotherham,etc,etc.
Also you imply,in your second comment, that Islam is an Abrahamic religion when there’s no mention of Islam or Muslim until Mohammed founded his Cult in the 7th century and from the 7th century and Islam we have sacred text-sanctioned child abuse as in the Koranic dictate to emulate Mohammed as ‘the best of men’ and Mohammed being an abominable child molester that’s what we get from this Cult wherever they appear,Rotherham,etc.
Other abominations from the Cult of Islam ,-
—And the examples today are abominable (partial list):
95% of Pakistani truck drivers have sex with boys.
Pre-pubescent males (boys) are categorized as females (catamites) under Sharia Law.
The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan…the twisted Islamic practice of pederasty (homosexual sex abuse of boys by men).
And the numerous stories by US, Canadian & UK troops that anonymously reported that they were told to overlook the rape of little boys by Muslim men…because it was ‘a cultural thing’.
Islam has shown us what’s under its burqa…and it’s the lowest mankind can offer.—”
–
Are 95% of Irish lorry drivers child molester as their counterparts in Pakistan?
Are pre-pubescent Irish boys considered female and thus fair game to use as sexual toys- as per Sharia Law?
No. Of course not. And their Judeo-Christian ethics of sexual morality are the reason like it or not.
@Bigus Diccus…Why don’t you put yourown pus up on your avatar?. Are you too ashamed or too cowardly?
@Matt Beaumont……And ,of course, Matt Beaumont is not among the morons.
So?
@ Paddy -For a bright lad, you really are a one trick pony.
If you are going to put up links about sexual abuse (Rotherham) at least put up other crimes that have been carried out
Here’s another pack of filthy dirty s(um
52 years of hushing up of pedos and rape, how comes to mind???
Catholic..a sorry excuse of a religion
Is that why Benedict was shoved out the door? He knew all this was happening.
Big oversight on god’s behalf, that he didn’t look into his background a bit more before divinely appointing him his sole representative on earth.
Biggus, he hasn’t really been on the ball since the Borgias.
Benedict is up to his eyes in it too according to somebody I know who lives in Rome..
Of course he is! Why do you think he resigned? “Ill health”? Ratzinger has been up to his neck as “Saint” John Paul’s guard dog, moving rapists to pastures new, protecting attackers while the victims suffered. I hope he’s plagued with the prospect of burning in Hell for the rest of his long, miserable life.
‘Saint’ John Paul II facilitated child abyse in the church – he did not have the courage to deal with child abuse & the Catholic Church fast track him to sainthood.
Ah Jesus the priests would never do anything like that, no way. They are as pure as raw sewerage.
Another scandal involving the Catholic Church that will be in the news for approx 2 days and will be swept under the carpet and nothing will ever be done about it.
So Pope Benedict go after the Vatican bank and they promise to stir it up over this, that might be why there is a Pope Francis now???
As Pope Francis has never talked about the Vatican bank???
When we see some crazy cleric/reverend extracting sex/ money from its own little settlements around the globe we call them cults. When they get a majority of followers we call it religion. The Vatican City is a great example of wealth. Every small town you pass through in this country the first thing that stands out is the clerical buildings and parochial houses. The grip on this country has loosened big time in resent times. About time I say. Good riddance
What’s this that the main man supposedly said at the Sermon on the Mount ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’. Well these sickos have done unto others so now the justice system should return the favour and do unto them and whip these animals. Anyone protecting them should be found guilty by association and whipped too. Then hog tie them and throw them into a wing of some kippy prison in Berlin containing hard core criminals.
One of the few direct quotes in the Bible attributed directly to Christ clearly states that it would be better for them to have a millstone tied around their necks and to be cast into the ocean…Not usually a fan of the Bible but when in Rome…..
There never was a Christ. Myth.
Never said there was but if they want to go around saying there is I say we hold em to the thing.
Sure the bibles mad. In Deuteronomy, Satan instructs non-believers to eat their children or else he’ll make the children suffer unbearable chronic illness. Did I say Satan, sorry that was God. My bad.
How anyone still sets foot in a Catholic Church is beyond me…
This is another reason we should have given Bavaria to Israel after WWII. The Jews would not tolerate this. The bishop then insulted them with an offer of $3,000 for the horror they received from his church. Many of the local Colorado priestly molesters were children in the Carhedral Choir Boys of Denver. It was started by Monsignor Besseti who was his generation’s highest placed molester that we know o in our area. He trained them up, like Rev Leonard Abercrombie, who molested so many here and in California.
I wouldn’t be so sure about that, it seems all three of the Abrahamic religions are fond of abusing children http://www.vice.com/read/the-child-rape-assembly-line-0000141-v20n11
Ireland for resettling those involved again?
Paedophiles can be found in every walk of life.
Except if they’re found in the Catholic church, they just move them to another parish and say nothing.
God calls a lot of them to be princes of his church. Why is that?
But they will be found in the catholic church, by the thousands.
@Oran. Their are more pedarast priests than peodopile priests in the catholic church, lest we forget about them. But let’s lump them in there too just to be accurate.
Typical of Oran to defend his beloved catholic cult by highlighting a the similar crimes of others in an effort to deflect attention away from his mates. A bit like the school yard argument ” what about johnny Sir. He didn’t do his homework either. “
Margaret power, shame on you.
Filth. Benedict stepping down is very clear now. Paedocoverup.com
Ok this is why I don’t like organised religion.
I stopped watching the BBC after the Jimmy Saville scandal.
@Oran. Parroting the usual theist rethoric. There are a dis-proportionate number of pedarast and peodopile priests in the RCC and they were supported, facilitated and protected by an army of holy men and women parading as men and women of your God. Let’s be honest for once and stop being an apologist and therefor a supporter of these international criminals.
Rational people look at brainwashed folk like you Oran and very clearly see overt cognitive dissonance on display. Your inability to comprehend the horrors of your church has led to displacing these crimes in your mind by focusing on people or organisations which have committed similarly heinous acts against children. It’s a terribly sad and pitiful place to be in and could be psychologically damaging in the long run.
@richard. Oran has consistently displayed how he hasn’t the capacity to think independanently and critically about his beliefs and therefore you will see how he copy and pastes like it’s going out of fashion and hates when you introduce a few stumbling blokes to his arguements as it’s a nightmare to find and rob an answer suitable from Google.
“psychologically damaged”
You mean like you Richard.
The truth can be a bitter pill sometimes Oran, especially when it stares right back at you.
“Independently and critically”
How come all you guys sound exactly the same then?
Like brainwashed atheist clones.
Might be bitter to you Richard. The truth is always sweet to the believer.
@Oran. Its called free will. If your god gave you free will, how come he doesn’t allow you to use it ?
Also Oran, no one brain washes atheists. Atheists become atheists as a result of education. If you never question your beliefs, how do you know you’re following the truth ?
You were born an atheist Oran, just like you were born without prejudice, but religion crippled and destroyed a part of your mind.
I see the issue of child abuse as a global phenomenon, not one exclusive to the Church.
You on the other hand reserve your focus for religious organizations which is quite a narrow vision in my opinion. A vision based on ignorance and one which is obviously ideologically motivated.
@Oran. You believe in a book that contains talking snakes, 7 headed beasts, unicorns, the anti christ, witches, demons, food falling from the sky,people walking on water, burning bushes, noahs ark, all sorts of magical primitive stories, and you call us brainwashed ? We’re not asking you to believe us,we’re just asking you to think.
Incorrect, the catholic church has loomed darkly over this island for more than 150 years, the BBC has nothing to do with Ireland, the catholic church, from Boston to Ferns to Berlin and Rome, to Sydney and all across the Third World has actively and deliberately moved paedophiles to new pastures where they could prey on children again and again, they also house those who are the subject of criminal investigation in the Vatican where they have immunity, this is the organisation you support and defend.
Atheists delude themselves they are independent critical thinkers.
The reality is that they are far from it.
To the impartial mind the collective atheist din on any religious debate resembles the din of a pandemonium of parrots.
Or the jeering tone of a cackle of hyenas.
“You believe in a book that contains talking snakes, 7 headed beasts, unicorns, the anti christ, witches, demons, food falling from the sky,people walking on water, burning bushes, noahs ark, all sorts of magical primitive stories, and you call us brainwashed ? We’re not asking you to believe us,we’re just asking you to think”
If you actually thought about the shallowness of that comment you would be embarrassed.
Obviously you didn’t.
@richard. And there it is Richard. The copy and paste king who has no arguement. I rest my case.
Haha.
Cop out.
It’s not surprising P-anti, when you’re raised on other peoples thoughts!
@Richard Cheney………. this is how the Islamo-Fascist Imams and Ayatollahs handle child abuse.
—’Let me begin with a quote from a fatwa by the late and unlamented Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran.
“A man can marry a girl younger than nine years of age, even if the girl is still a baby being breastfed. A man, however is prohibited from having intercourse with a girl younger than nine, other sexual acts such as foreplay, rubbing, kissing and sodomy is allowed. A man having intercourse with a girl younger than nine years of age has not committed a crime, but only an infraction, if the girl is not permanently damaged. If the girl, however, is permanently damaged, the man must provide for her all her life. But this girl will not count as one of the man’s four permanent wives. He also is not permitted to marry the girl’s sister—.”R
Robert Spencer http://www.islam-watch.org/Others/Islamic-sexual-perversion.htm
Anti-Gaeilge (‘irritating sounds of the language’) on another site and apologist for pedophiles here.
Yer a real piece of work, Oran!
This could be the reason why Razts gave up the papacy – He was the 1st pope to ‘abdicate’.
Benedict was a leader, Francis is a politician.
And you’re very naive.
And you are a see you next Tuesday
The catholic church is infested with them.
Lambs to the slaughter and they have everyone running to them with their little babies and they not a week old to be christened and accepted into this wonderful church presided over by insane strange men, that’s how early one of these miscreants can get within range of your child and then regular private encounters when the confession games begin. In all the schools pedaling their version of events to young impressionable minds. Keep well a way from them, they are completely unnecessary to life and death, a hiderance in fact to a worthwhile spititual journey. A drink of any type of water is more sacred than all their holy water and their rituals and sacrements. They are lost and dangerous , don’t choose to be lost and dangerous a long with them .
@Bernard. Maybe if there were more Atheists, there would be less fox holes. Holy Franking (quote)
This is the organisation you align with, people – are you proud?
How were they are to silence over 231 victims ?
A bunch of men in robes,expensive jewellery preaching fairy tale bullshit all the while beating and raping innocent children. The answer to your question Suzie is that there’s a billion parents who believe in this bullshit too so it’s not that hard if you think about it.
*able*
Google Stanford prison experiment.
Socrates , I read about that experiment and I think I’ve watched a documentary on it before . quite interesting .
Mad how the authority afforded to an individual by an institution effects people , they had to stop the experiment after 6 days because of how out of hand it was getting, also a very good film out under the same name, genuinely unsettling to watch even though I knew what was going to happen.
I actually wasn’t expecting it to turn out the way it did . both interesting and disturbing at the same time .
Shut your hole margaret. Full of shite
Gee, a whole 2,500 euro each?? Mr Pope, you are spoiling them.
Utterly disgraceful, should at least prosecute the perpetrators.
Severe beatings and rape in the name of God. Bid the hoky.
Just one more reason why organised religion should be curtailed and their lands and wealth confiscated. Think of all the good could be done with their billions.
I’m sure Jebuz would approve. He was all about helping people. If he existed at all that is. Which is doubtful.
Strange? The question must be asked?. Why would a 1000 year old choir in Germany only have (231) abuses and those abuses only happened during the time Fr. George Ratzinger was in charge of the choir? The accuser said that it was the practice ” system of sadistic punishments connected to sexual pleasure” ? He is lying because he hated to be there and why did he not say anything before 2010? The article is trying to smear Pope Benedict & his brother George. Both were priests for over 60 years. They were not the abusers so why the story?
The accuser “The director and composer Franz Wittenbrink, a former pupil of the boarding school, had told Der Spiegel magazine in 2010 that there was a “system of sadistic punishments connected to sexual pleasure”. The shyster lawyer who is “Commissioned” to take the case has a motive.
Let us look at who the accuser is. The question is is he credible? At age nine, he was sent to the boarding school of music cathedral choir. There he received instruction in piano, cello, organ, trumpet, music theory and counterpoint. After graduation, he rebelled against his conservative environment. He studied sociology in Mannheim and Heidelberg and was involved in the SDS (Socialist German Student Association), for whom he 1969/70 in the student parliament and the student council was elected University (WH) Mannheim. He co-founded the KBW (Communist League of West Germany) in Heidelberg, for which he unsuccessfully in 1976 in the general election in the constituency Mannheim I (with the Occupation driver candidate). After his expulsion from the KBW in 1981 teachings as a piano maker and machinist, and the work followed as sanitation workers, truck drivers and printers. It was not until more than thirty years, he returned early 80s back as keyboardist a band (soul, funk, reggae, jazz) back to the music.
What better reason to accuse a Roman Catholic Pontiff and his brother than being a promoter and even a founder of the Communist Party KBW (50) Fifty Plus years later. Why would Der Spiegel not print this and pursue this story? Many years ago. Because it is not true. There may have been abuses by others, but to implicate Fr. George Ratzinger is outrageous..
Obviously, Der Spigel wanted to increase their readership ( The Communists & Muslims in Germany) by promoting propaganda about the leadership in the Roman Catholic Church. The lawyer can fill his pockets, and the Objectively Disordered accuser can blame someone else for his failures.
Send for Ray Donovan.
Anyway.
There you have it.
@Richard. I spoke too soon, thats his answer !
You know, one time I actually thought you had something to say.
Now I realise you’re a one trick pony.
As hollow as the plantain tree.
Yes, I’m shallow and hollow but im sorry if I don’t pretend the RCC is not the largest pedophile ring on the planet. You are a supporter of this ring.
That argument is of such fragile tenuousness it doesn’t even warrant a rebuke.
Anyway.
Goodnight to you.
Nor one you could copy and paste.
Scar Stát & Eaglais in Éirinn.
Dochreidthe mícheart go mbeadh Eaglais i gceannas ar oideachas na tíre!
Sin Dialathas aineolach.
Cearta uainn.
Saoirse uainn.
Freagracht uainn.
Oideachas saor ó iompúchán uainn.
Agus an bus ag gluisteacht, ná bí ag cur isteach ar an tiomaní.
i.e. west .. have you read that back?
have your say