bbc.

com

Hundreds of German choir boys

abused over six decades - report
3-4 minutes

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption A report suggests abuse at the boarding school took place
under a "culture of silence"

At least 547 young members of the Regensburger Domspatzen

boys choir in Germany were subjected to physical and in some
instances sexual abuse over a period of 60 years, a new report says.

Some 49 members of the Catholic Church are accused of carrying

out the abuse between 1945 and the early 1990s, according to the
report's findings.

Victims said the experience was like "a prison, hell and a

1 of 3
concentration camp".

A 2016 report into the allegations said that 231 children had been
abused.

The alleged physical abuse relates to children attending both the

Regensburger Domspatzen's pre-school and high school, according
to the lawyer tasked with investigating the abuse, Ulrich Weber.

Representatives from the Regensburger Domspatzen boys choir

have yet to officially respond to the report.

Presenting his findings on Tuesday, Mr Weber said the investigation

had found 500 cases of physical abuse and 67 instances of sexual
abuse over six decades.

Of the 49 church members who carried out the abuse under what
was described as a "culture of silence", nine were found to have
been involved in sexual abuse, Mr Weber added.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Mr Weber said he found 500 cases of physical abuse and
67 instances of sexual abuse

2 of 3
He said the victims described their experiences at the boarding
schools in southern Germany as "the worst time of their lives,
characterised by fear, violence and hopelessness".

As head of the choir from 1964 to 1994, Georg Ratzinger could be

"blamed for looking the other way and failing to intervene," Mr
Weber said.

Mr Ratzinger, the 93-year-old elder brother of former Pope Benedict

XVI, has denied any knowledge of the alleged abuse and said that it
was "never discussed" while he ran the choir.

The church has previously offered to pay the Regensburger victims

compensation of between 5,000 (4,436; $5,776) and 20,000.

The 1000-year-old choir was initially rocked by allegations of

widespread sexual abuse in 2010.

The Catholic Church has been hit with a number of scandals in

recent years. In the 1990s, revelations emerged of widespread
abuse in Ireland and at the turn of the century, more cases of abuse
were revealed in more than a dozen countries.

The UN has accused the Vatican of "systematically" adopting

policies allowing priests to sexually abuse thousands of children.

Since his election, Pope Francis has appeared to offer new hope to
victims, with a call for action on sex abuse in the Church.

3 of 3