Bishops have an 'enormous respect for World Opinion'

'Spiegel' - Colmnist Jan Fleischhauer, imputed then to the German Bishop's world an "enormous respect for world opinion" and supposed that the Bishops had above all their own pressing situation in view, as they pressure their fellows in the requirements of their offices. "As observers of such a cycle of agitation, one can only tell the gentlemen: The hope of a calming of the situation won't be fulfilled, things have proceeded too far."

Augsburg (kath.net) The Spiegel columnist Jan Fleischauer had warned on Thursday that the offer of resignation by Augsburg Bishop Walter Mixa had been out from under the magnifying glass and warned the Catholic Church of the fallacy, that with this forced resignation the crisis would be encouraged. "After twelve weeks of debates about the abuse, only one German Bishop has lost his office - in any event not because of abuse with a minor, rather because of a pair of canings and all too lax handling of church funds.", wrote the columnist as he wondered about the statements and revelations by Alois Gluck. "This introduced the question: revelations whereof?" That finally they have someone by the throat, who because of his loose tongue and archconservative inclinations had already proven himself to be a burden? Or the revelation of a peace offering to the infuriated public, which since the outbreak of the abuse crisis longed for personal consequences?"

Fleischhauer imputed then to the German Bishop's world an "enormous respect for world opinion" and supposed that the Bishops had above all their own pressing situation in view, as they pressure their fellows in the requirements of their offices. "As observers of such a cycle of agitation, one can only tell the gentlemen: The hope of a calming of the situation won't be fulfilled, things have proceeded too far."

For the columnist, the abuse debate has reached a situation in which scale and proportion is appraised as trivialization and falls upon the questioner. For a long while Fleschhauer and his scout have lost their overview, as to how many persons were actually victims of the Church. "Are there thousands or already ten thousands? And where does the boarder run between unpleasant, or simply a lack of control on one side and scandalous acts on the other side? According to the course of the discussion one can only ascertain, that they become further blurred," said the Spiegel-Author.

Fleischauer made it clear in the end that in the seventies that a canning during instruction was a gaffe, today it can be an occasion for a long sensitivity training. For this columnist the the malice in this kind of debate is "the imprecision of many cases". "Whoever adroitly conducts himself as a suspect, therefore masters the code of the moment, has a much greater chance to come up like the door that is closed too soon. Not a few are of the opinion that Mixa today would still be in office, had he condescended - combined with a word of apology - to admit this or that "wobbling". For this acceptence would speak to some. It doesn't make the situation better."

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