Abuse victim seeks $945,000 from Catholic Church in Germany

By Anadolu staff

BERLIN (AA) - A German court on Tuesday ordered a thorough investigation after a woman filed a lawsuit against the Catholic Church seeking €830,000 ($945,000) in compensation for childhood sexual abuse.

The Cologne regional court has ordered an expert assessment to evaluate whether the victim still suffers from the abuse's effects. The court will also schedule a hearing to take direct testimony from the victim.

The 38-year-old woman stated in her petition that she was sexually abused by an altar server leader in the 1990s, and the trauma continues to severely impact her life. Her lawyer demanded €830,000 in compensation from the church.

The Archdiocese of Cologne has rejected the compensation claim, disputing both the woman's account of 280 incidents and the extent of ongoing trauma she described in her request.

The perpetrator, a volunteer altar server leader, had received a suspended sentence in 1998 for four cases of abuse—two within the church and two within a family setting, according to German press agency DPA.

The case has drawn widespread attention across Germany due to its potential as a legal precedent. Besides the large compensation amount sought, it will determine whether the Catholic Church bears financial responsibility for abuse committed by volunteers, not just by full-time employees such as priests. The Archdiocese of Cologne argues that since the altar server leader was a volunteer, the diocese cannot be held liable for his actions.

Recent investigations across Germany have revealed widespread patterns of sexual abuse within Catholic and Protestant churches spanning decades. These investigations have documented hundreds of cases in which clergy members and church volunteers abused children and vulnerable individuals. Church authorities either failed to investigate these cases properly or deliberately concealed them.