The investigation opened in Germany into the allegations of sexual abuse against Cardinal Franz Hengsbach (1910-1991), first bishop of Essen, has taken a new step with the publication of an interim report that considers three complaints of sexual violence against minors to be “well-founded and plausible.”
The study also questions the response that both the Diocese of Essen and the Archdiocese of Paderborn gave for years to the first reports received about these incidents.
The report was prepared by three independent research institutes—the Institute for Research and Project Consulting (IPP) in Munich, the Dissens Institute in Berlin, and the Research Centre for Contemporary History in Hamburg—commissioned in 2024 to clarify the known allegations against the man who for decades was one of the most influential figures in the German episcopate.
The researchers examined twelve complaints of sexual violence against minors attributed to Hengsbach. After analyzing the available documentation and testimonies, they conclude that three of them show a high degree of consistency and historical coherence.
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