Researchers classify abuse allegations against former Essen Cardinal Hengsbach as plausible

The study was commissioned by the Diocese of Essen after the allegations became public in 2023. The Munich social research institute IPP is coordinating the investigation together with two other institutes. Representatives of the three institutes commissioned with the study spoke of "Doppelbödigkeit der katholischen Kirche" at the presentation of an interim report in Munich.

Reactions from the Diocese of Essen

Johannes Norpoth, spokesperson for those affected, drew a clear conclusion in Munich: "Hengsbach war ein Sexualstraftäter - ohne Wenn und Aber". He added: "Wir sprechen jetzt nicht mehr von einem Angeschuldigten, sondern einem Täter". Norpoth called on the Church to draw consequences and limit power within its structures.

After the allegations became known in 2023, additional persons came forward alongside two already known victims after the IPP publicly appealed for information. Numerous contemporary witnesses also came forward, it was said. WDR church expert Theodor Dierkes told WDR that he would have wished for faster facts: "Ich hätte gerne schneller Fakten gehabt - immerhin dürfte das älteste Opfer fast 90 Jahre alt sein".

The study also deals with the cardinal's brother, the priest Paul Hengsbach. According to the researchers' findings, both are said to have jointly exercised violence against a girl. Paul Hengsbach had consistently rejected the allegations during his lifetime. Already in the 1980s, Cardinal Franz Hengsbach had rejected concrete allegations in one case.

The explosive role of the brother

The current Bishop of Essen, Franz-Josef Overbeck, acknowledged errors by the Church on Thursday. He said: "In mindestens drei Fällen sexualisierter Gewalt gegen junge Frauen ist davon auszugehen, dass sie so stattgefunden haben, wie Betroffene sie schildern". Overbeck further explained that he could not have imagined that a "so heroisierter Bischof" would be capable of such things and had therefore not pursued the allegations.

At the same time, Overbeck expressly apologized: "Dass den Betroffenen so viele Jahre nicht geglaubt wurde und sie allein gelassen wurden, bedauere er heute". As early as 2023, he had apologized for not having passed on information from 2011. At that time, Overbeck said he had been approached about the case by a woman who claims to have been abused by Hengsbach as a child, but had not passed on the information.

Church law professor Thomas Schüller of the University of Münster sees a structural problem in the case: "Je prominenter die Täter, um so seltener finden wir grundsätzlich Nachweise, die dokumentiert sind". The IPP report also refers to the special role Hengsbach had played for decades in the German church landscape. He was co-founder of the Latin America relief agency Adveniat and at times military bishop in Berlin.

Outlook: Final report in 2027

By the conclusion of the investigation, the researchers also intend to delve deeper into questions of abuse of power and possible knowledge by other clerics or perpetrator networks. The final report of the study is expected in 2027. The Diocese of Essen had commissioned the investigation after the allegations became publicly known in 2023.

The results of the interim report were presented on the day of reporting and indicate that the extent of the possible acts is greater than previously assumed. A possible assault against a boy is also considered by the researchers to be "in der Schilderung konsistent". This increases pressure on the Catholic Church to comprehensively come to terms with the Hengsbach case and to critically review its internal structures.