Schwechat: Pastor Blasch's dark past!

Schwechat: Pastor Blasch's dark past!

On Sunday, March 9th, the parish of Schwechat released a shocking unveiling about its long -time pastor Helmut Blasche. In a letter read during the service, not only was his positive initiatives reminded, but also of the serious allegations of sexual abuse that were raised against him for many years. Blasch, who worked in the community from 1955 to 1999, initiated many church projects and significantly shaped community life. But the dark side of his work has caused great pain, as can be read in writing the parish.

The parish has received new, previously unknown allegations against Blasche in the past two years, which affect serious abuse acts of underage -fold -outs. "Blasche has misused the trust of many people and committed sexual wrong for many years," said the harrowing confession of the parish. In order to offer the affected persons and their relatives space for discussions and support, the parish leadership under Pastor Werner Pirkner has declared that they are approaching the topic unadorned. The Archdiocese of Vienna has also commented on the incidents. Michael Prüller, a spokesman for the diocese, admitted that until recently, only an incident was known in 1996, which had led to a judicial conviction. Nevertheless, Blasch was still allowed to work in pastoral care, based on a positive psychiatric report.

reactions of the archdiocese

Treatment and reaction to these allegations of abuse are in a different light today. "With the current state of knowledge about the persistence of pedophile tendencies, we would react immediately with an exemption from service," said Prüller. The archdiocese has massively reinforced its measures to prevent and persecute sexual abuse in recent years. In all dioceses, there are now independent ombuds and prevention tables that are supposed to support people who have suffered from abuse. Nevertheless, the processing of the past leads to a painful discussion about responsibility and justice in the Catholic Church, as well as among the believers themselves.

those affected are encouraged to contact the ombudsman of the Archdiocese of Vienna in order to receive financial and therapeutic help. In a further step, the church will try to find a way to heal and reconciliation through openness and communication. The past two years have shown how important it is to take such incidents seriously and to discuss it openly to restore confidence in the institution, such as 5min.at and also reports Erzdiözese Vienna emphasized .