At least 547 at a German Catholic choir school in Germany faced physical or sexual abuse in conditions likened to 'prison, hell and a concentration camp' over a period of 60 years, a damning report has found.
The boys were members of the Regensburger Domspatzen ('Cathedral Sparrows') boys choir in Bavaria, a final report into which was released yesterday.
The lawyer leading the investigation into the abuse, Ulrich Weber, reported 500 cases of physical abuse and 67 of sexual abuse – but said the true number of victims could be as high as 700, according to BBC News.
Weber said that a 'culture of silence had enabled the abuse, and criticism centred in part on former choirmaster Georg Ratzinger, the brother of the now retired Pope Benedict XVI.
'One can accuse him of looking the other way and failing to intervene,' Weber said of Ratzinger, who is now 93. Ratzinger was the head of the choir from 1964 to 1994 but has denied any knowledge of such abuse, saying it was 'never discussed'.
The report accuses 49 members of the Catholic Church of abuse, nine of whom are accused of sexual abuse. However, though the alleged perpetrators have been identified, Weber said that criminal charges are not expected because the crimes took place too long ago.
Victims reportedly described their experiences as 'the worst time of their lives, characterised by fear, violence and hopelessness'.
Allegations against the school surfaced in 2010 and a 2016 report listed 231 child victims of abuse. The Church has previously offered compensation to the victims of abuse, of between €5,000 and €20,000 each.
The scandal is one of many historic abuse cases to have hit the Catholic Church in recent years. Last month Cardinal George Pell – a key papal adviser and the most senior figure in the Australian Catholic Church – was charged over historic allegations of child sex abuse.
