Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Catholic News ServiceJanuary 19, 2022
German Archbishop Stefan Hesse of Hamburg enters the security check on his way to the abuse trial at Cologne Regional Court Jan. 18, 2022. (CNS photo/Julia Steinbrecht, KNA)

COLOGNE, Germany (CNS) -- In the first testimony ever given by a German Catholic bishop in a court case on abuse, Hamburg Archbishop Stefan Hesse admitted having made mistakes in the case of an offending priest on trial in the Cologne regional court.

The German Catholic news agency KNA reported that Archbishop Hesse, 55, the former head of personnel in the Archdiocese of Cologne, was called as a witness in the case against the priest, who has only been named as U. He said the mistakes included that the allegations against the priest that became known in 2010 should have been reported to the Vatican.

Archbishop Hesse said the mistakes included that the allegations against the priest that became known in 2010 should have been reported to the Vatican.

The archbishop testified that, at that time, he had relied on the assessment of the legal and church law experts in the Archdiocese of Cologne. They had said the priest’s nieces who had been abused did not want to participate in a church trial. The chief church judge of the archdiocese at the time, Father Günter Assenmacher, had said there was therefore nothing that could be sent to the Vatican.

“That made sense to me,” said Archbishop Hesse.

The priest on trial is charged with abusing his three underage nieces in the 1990s, in some cases severely, KNA reported. In addition, he is alleged to have molested an 11-year-old girl in 2011. The testimonies of witnesses so far indicate that there may have been other victims after that time as well, KNA reported.

The priest on trial is charged with abusing his three underage nieces in the 1990s, in some cases severely, KNA reported. In addition, he is alleged to have molested an 11-year-old girl in 2011.

A niece of the defendant first lodged a complaint against him in 2010 for alleged abuse. The Archdiocese of Cologne suspended the priest and questioned him about the accusations.

Archbishop Hesse is alleged to have breached his duty by not recording the interview. After the charges were later withdrawn, the state prosecutor’s office dropped the proceedings, and the archdiocese reinstated U. as hospital chaplain. No report was made to Rome and no further steps were taken under church law.

A transcript of a conversation between Archbishop Hesse and the defendant from 2011 was read out in court. In it, U. openly stated that he was still active as a priest and held church services despite his leave of absence.

“I should have put a stop to it,” Archbishop Hesse said.

Archbishop Hesse had agreed with him that he should no longer conduct church services as the main celebrant but only together with other priests. But even that was in violation of his suspension, the archbishop admitted.

“I should have put a stop to it,” Archbishop Hesse said. KNA reported he testified he realized that mistakes had been made. He had “articulated his responsibility” when he offered his resignation to Pope Francis in March 2021. Prior to that, a legal report presented in the Archdiocese of Cologne had accused the archbishop of 11 breaches of duty in dealing with abuse cases -- including the case of U.

Pope Francis rejected Archbishop Hesse’s resignation request in September.

“The pope’s decision does not make things any easier,” the archbishop told the court.

The Archdiocese of Cologne reopened the U. case in 2018 in the course of its reappraisal of past abuse. It handed the case to the state justice system and banned U. from performing priestly duties.

The latest from america

Pope Leo XIV has appointed the French archbishop of Chambéry, Thibault Verny, as the new president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. He succeeds Cardinal Seán O’Malley, 81, the emeritus archbishop of Boston.
Gerard O’ConnellJuly 05, 2025
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks with other members of the House July 3, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington after final passage of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill. (OSV News photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)
“Deep cuts” to SNAP and Medicaid will “inflict real suffering on these families…. SNAP and Medicaid are not luxuries, they are lifelines for millions of children across our country.”
Kevin ClarkeJuly 03, 2025
It was one of the first times Leo has spoken unscripted at length in public, responding to questions posed to him by the children.
The Vatican has named the judges that will preside over the trial of disgraced Father Marko Rupnik.