A German church has used over EUR one million some of which from a fund intended to support sexual abuse victims in order to cover a priest’s gambling debt.
The clergyman whose identity was not disclosed by German media owed EUR 500,000 (GBP 413,883) according to a statement from a spokesperson from the Archdiocese of Cologne on Thursday (14th April).
The Archdiocese of Cologne is a branch of the Catholic Church headquartered in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany.
Aside from the original debt which the authorities payed without taxing it properly, additional EUR 650,000 (GBP 537,871), some of which from their sexual abuse victims fund, were handed out to avoid the impending tax proceedings.
In total, the church issued EUR 1.15 million (GBP 951,544) in several instalments between 2015 and 2016.
Archdiocese officials reported that the affair started during the last years in power of the former Archbishop Joachim Meisner, prior to his passing at the age of 83, but was supported by his successor Rainer Maria Woelki, 65, after he took office in 2014.
Theologian and Munster cannon lawyer Thomas Schuller reported: “The information provided by the Archdiocese shows a frightening lack of knowledge or ignorance of the relevant property law provisions.”
Schuller, who stated that it is unlawful to decide on such payments without involving the responsible bodies, said: “If such payments are justifiable for social reasons, the approval of the committees can also be expected.”
Schuller added: “The action of the diocese leadership in this case is clearly illegal.”
Press spokesperson from the Archdiocese Jurgen Kleikamp disagreed with Schuller’s statement and said that involving relevant bodies in the case was not necessary.
He added: “No committees were involved because they did not have to be involved here. The regulation cited by professor Schuller is not relevant here.
“We assume that such a case can no longer occur today because we learnt a lesson, and the contact between the human resources department and the clergy is more intensive and better organized today.”
Local media did not reveal more information regarding the gambling habits of the priest.
