Former Domspatz member files substantial lawsuits against Bistum Regensburg over numerous allegations against abuse commissioners.
In a shocking turn of events, Matthias Podszus, a victim of sexual abuse at the Domspatzen primary school in Pielenhofen, is seeking to sue the Diocese of Regensburg for damages. The abuse, which was known to Dr. Martin Linder, the abuse commissioner of the diocese from 2013 to 2020, has been a long-standing issue, dating back to 1998.
The primary school and boarding school of the Regensburger Domspatzen in Pielenhofen were led by the priest Johann Meier for almost four decades. Meier and his accomplices are associated with humiliation, beatings, torture-like and religiously charged punishments, and all kinds of abuses. Hundreds of children fell victim to them.
In June 2023, the Cologne Regional Court awarded a victim of abuse who had sued the Archdiocese 300,000 euros. However, the case of Matthias Podszus remains unresolved. After his discharge in October 1998, Podszus was to be cared for in a therapeutic group home in Regensburg, but was treated more as a troublesome teenager rather than a victim of sexual abuse.
Dr. Martin Linder, the long-serving abuse commissioner, was also apparently involved in this "culture of silence". It is currently unknown whether Podszus is an isolated case of abuse that was not addressed by Linder. In 1998, Podszus, then 15 years old, was admitted to the children and youth psychiatry of the district hospital of Regensburg against his will.
The Weber report, published in 2017, confirms the "culture of silence" and cover-up that persisted until at least 2010 and involved almost all those responsible at the Domspatzen. The crimes of Meier and his accomplices are vividly documented in the report.
Victims of violence and abuse in the diocese had never really trusted Linder. He was never the independent advisor he claimed to be. Linder, who was the chief physician of the children and youth psychiatry department at the district hospital in Regensburg in 1998, did not respond to multiple email inquiries from the editorial team.
The responsibility for addressing violence and abuse cases in the Diocese of Regensburg is currently held by the appointed abuse commissioner or safeguarding officer appointed after Linder's tenure ended in 2020. The "Independent Commission for Recognition Payments" paid out almost eleven million euros in 439 applications last year alone.
Documents support the accusation that Linder did not inform the parents of Podszus about the sexual abuse he had suffered as a child. Matthias Podszus remains bitter about Linder's inaction at the time. He claims over one million euros in damages and pain and suffering in his lawsuit against the Diocese of Regensburg.
The therapeutic group home St. Vincent in Regensburg, where Podszus was later cared for, was an institution of the Catholic youth welfare, on whose administrative board Linder sits. This raises further questions about Linder's role in the handling of abuse cases within the diocese.
As the investigation into the Regensburg Diocese continues, it is hoped that justice will be served for all victims of abuse and that steps will be taken to ensure such incidents are prevented in the future.
