Looking for truth: Klaus Mertes about abuse and AfD in the church

Looking for truth: Klaus Mertes about abuse and AfD in the church

Wien, Österreich - Wien, 06.12.2024 (Cape) - Klaus Mertes, who became known as Jesuit priest and abuse expert, celebrates his 70th birthday today. Born in diplomats, he made headlines in 2010 when he revealed the abuse scandal at the Catholic Canisius-Kolleg in Berlin. This led to a wave of inquiries and reports of other victims of sexual violence from church and public institutions. When Mertes asked former students at the time, he had no idea that he would start an avalanche. His open nature and commitment to a comprehensive processing of abuse brought him a lot of praise, but also violent criticism and even threats of murder, as he later reported in an interview, as well as katholisch.de held.

commitment to change

In a current interview with Kathpress, Mertes reflects on the critical developments in the Catholic Church and the role of Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, who has been helping him in the past. Schönborn accompanied the processing of abuse in Austria and set significant accents that were long considered unimaginable in Germany. In this context, Mertes calls for the recognition and visibility for victims of abuse and emphasizes the need for a resilient system for help and justice in order to finally hear the victims, including caps kathpress.at .

Mertes was particularly critical of the AfD and its influence in society, since this party propagates a “international-nationalist attitude” and thus contradicts the Christian image of man. Despite the setbacks of his work, Mertes remains optimistic and sees himself as a responsibility to promote educational opportunities within the Catholic Church. In his opinion, education is the key to bring about long -term changes in society and to master the challenges in dealing with religious issues. He is convinced that a positive development can only take place through a continuous examination of abuse and a critical reflection of the church.