Scandalous: The German church sexually abused 547 juvenile boys

Presenting his 450-page test report, lawyer Ulrich Weber said 500 cases of physical abuse and 67 cases of sexual abuse have been recorded, including a period of more than six decades.

Of the 49 church officials and teachers involved in the report, nine persons were found to have been sexual abusers of young people. Church officials had promoted a <x0-cultural tranquillity”, which allowed them to commit such abuses for decades, Weber said.

Moreover, Weber calls this event “concentration”.

Victims have described their school and experience as a “burg, hell and a “concentration camp, Weber said, saying in other words that many of those abused years have described them as the worst “of their lives, characterized by fear, violence and lack of hope”.

In 2010, the 100-year-old choir of the Catholic Church was shaken by charges of widespread racial abuse by former members of the choir. By 2013 more than 400 victims have been reported abused by Catholic priests.

Cori was led by Georg Ratzinger, the former Pope Benedict's older brother from 1964 to 1994, when it is believed that most abuses have occurred.

Weber has consistently stated that Ratzinger must have had knowledge of some of the cases, even though he has denied to have any information on the issue, reports “Deutsche Welle”, Periscopi broadcast.

As widely expected, the Weber report on Tuesday found that the number of victims was evidently higher. Demands for abuse date back to 1945, but most cases reportedly occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. However, the last record of physical abuse against young boys dates back to 1992.

The report's authors stated that they wanted their findings to help the victims find peace and bring to the expression the suffering they experienced during their childhood.

Last year, the church offered to pay the victims compensation of 5,000 to 20,000 euros. After the Weber report, this figure will now be decided by an independent body./Periscopi/