What I suppose is missing in Poland – and that is the difference I see from Germany and Western European countries – is the lack of influence and activity by civil society. There are a lot of activists and NGOs, but they don’t have power in Polish society . The victims are speaking out, trying to get heard, but there is no reaction from society, so how can they achieve anything? [...]
In Germany, I must say, when the story broke, society was soon willing to listen to us. In the decades before 2010 – dating back to the seventies – there were movements, especially of women, that talked about violence in relationships and sexual violence against women and children. There was already a network of counselling services all over the country, so there was a society prepared to receive this news, this truth, that the Catholic Church also has a history of sexual abuse. And this made it easier for us to negotiate with the Church, because society and the authorities were supporting us. [...]
Of course, there are cases of violence committed by Protestant priests as well, but the numbers are quite different: the number of crimes committed by Catholic priests are much higher. Of all those who called and said ‘I was abused within an institution’ – meaning a school, sports organisation, a college or so, 40% were in the Catholic Church. This means the Catholic church has an issue – nearly half of the victims are on their side. We have to take the other institutions into account as well, but if you compare the numbers, it is obvious that there is a difference. It could be structural – in Protestant churches, priests can marry, and while – of course – a married man can abuse children, he also has a chance to have a happy sexual and emotional life. Another aspect is that you can have a female ministry in Protestant churches. What makes the Catholic church so difficult is this spirit of masculinity– they stay together as a bunch of guys who support each other and they create a special climate within the organisation. And this is really hard to overcome when it comes to disclosure of sexual violence and prevention.
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