More cases of sex abuse at German Catholic schools

Feb 15, 2010, 16:44 GMT

Berlin - A sex abuse scandal at Catholic schools in Germany widened on Monday, with a lawyer representing victims saying the number of cases was three times higher than originally believed.

More and more former pupils at colleges run by the Jesuit order of priests and other Catholic schools have come forward to complain of abuse, lawyer Ursula Raue told the German Press Agency dpa.

'The number of people who have contacted me or the Canisius College has risen to more than 100,' said the lawyer, who was asked by the Jesuits to investigate the allegations of abuse more than a quarter century ago.

The abuse came to light at the end of last month after a priest who left the order in 1991 went public with an admission that he forced boys to have sex at the elite Canisius College in Berlin from 1975 to 1983.

Initially it was thought that only around 30 pupils were involved.

The Jesuits later issued an apology, admitting that boys had been sexually abused at its secondary schools in three nations and that it covered up the scandal.

Stefan Dartman, superior for Germany of the worldwide order, confirmed there had been sex abuse in the 1970s and 1980s at five German locations: in Berlin, Hamburg, St. Blasien, Goettingen and Hildesheim. Other cases took place in Spain and Chile.

Because the alleged abuse happened so long ago, it was unclear whether criminal charges would be pressed.

Numerous revelations of paedophile priests have rocked the Roman Catholic church in recent years.

Pope Benedict XVI met a delegation of Irish bishops to the Vatican on Monday, following disclosures of a systematic cover-up of abuse by priests in the predominantly Catholic country.