Overview
- University of Passau released the 400-page study covering 1945–2022, documenting at least 672 abused minors and 154 implicated clerics, with most victims being boys in settings such as boarding homes, religious classes and altar service.
- The research team reviewed roughly 2,400 personnel files and interviewed 25 survivors and about 35 witnesses over three years, concluding the true number of victims likely exceeds the documented minimum.
- Researchers attribute the scale of abuse to structural failures that prioritized institutional protection, noting that about 6.4% of clergy were implicated and that an estimated 86% of suspects were repeat offenders.
- Bishop Stefan Oster issued a public apology for what he called massive failures by church leaders and said a deeper cultural shift is still needed despite newer prevention and oversight measures.
- The report was handed in late November to the independent review commission and the diocese’s victims’ advisory council and comes in the context of similar inquiries in other Bavarian dioceses with additional reports still to come.