A statue of late German Cardinal Franz Hengsbach has been removed from outside the cathedral in Essen after allegations of sexual abuse against him surfaced
A memorial for victims of sexual abuse will be created to take the place of the statue, which was erected in 2011.
The controversy around the statue began when the German dioceses of Essen and Paderborn announced that they had started investigations into at least three sexual abuse allegations brought against Hengsbach.
Two allegations date back to the 1950s and 1960s. The first case alleges that Hengsbach abused a 16-year-old girl in 1954 while he was still an auxiliary bishop in Paderborn. The second case dates back to 1967 when he allegedly assaulted another woman during his time in Essen when he was already a bishop.
The latest allegations were made by a third victim in October 2022.
Hengsbach founded the Diocese of Essen in 1958, where he was bishop until his death in 1991 at the age 80.
From the late 1970s there were strong objections to Hengsbach and the manner in which he ran his diocese. Many younger German Dominicans spoke out strongly and bravely against the man and accused him of behaving as a tyrant. He imposed an atmosphere of terror and fear among his priests and across the diocese.
Yesterday the bishop of Limburg and chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Georg Bätzing stressed that everything must be put of the table and no longer one word of cover up must be tolerated.
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