Abuse in Regensburg Domspatzen: Priest relieved of office

Nachrichten - Oberpfalz & Bayern - Bayern/Oberpfalz aus der MZ :: Mittelbayerische Zeitung :: www.mittelbayerische.de

The Bishop of Eichstätt Gregor Maria Hanke has suspended Father Sturmius Wagner, Dietenhofen-Großhabersdorf (Ansbach) with immediate effect from his pastoral duties. The priest is said to have sexually abused a minor during his time as a student assistant in the Regensburg Cathedral choir boarding school in the school year 1971/72, as the Roman Catholic Diocese of Regensburg announced on Wednesday.

Father Wagner. conceded on Tuesday in the press release wrong doing during his work in Regensburg, and asked the Diocese of Eichstätt to accept his resignation from the parish of Dietenhofen-Großhabersdorf and release him from the exercise of priestly services.

Sturmius Wagner worked from April 1970 to February 1972 in the boarding of the Regensburg Cathedral Choir as a student assistant. The mother of a student at that time reported that Wagner did not keep the necessary distance from her son. As a consequence, his task was ended at the cathedral choir, even if the allegation of sexual assault was not public. The Diocese of Regensburg in recent days has received concrete information about sexual abuse of a student in 1971. The Diocese of Regensburg is currently reviewing this information and now the prosecutor has been informed about the process.

The case came to light as a result of investigative journalism by Stern.  Wagner had shown films and magazines of a dubious nature to an 11 year old chorister studying at the school.

The Bishop preaches at Mass for dedication of the new church with Sturmius Wagner


Sturmius Wagner

Born in Amberg and since the end of April 2004 Parish Priest of the Parish of St. Walburga Dietenhofen-Großhabersdorf. Born in 1948, ordained in 1978 in Eichstätt, a member of the Ecumenical Commission of the Diocese, a founding member of the Association of Christian Churches in Bavaria. Wagner worked as a chaplain in Nuremberg-Reichelsdorf and in the pilgrimage church of Maria Bruennlein in Wemding
before he took over the Parish of Pfraunfeld and the office of the Deanery Youth Chaplain in the deanery of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen.
The next place he worked was Wassertrüdingen. In the mountain town of Hessel Wagner was for almost fourteen years parish priest before he - at the request of Eichstätt Bishop Walter Mixa – took over as successor to Father Bernhard Kroll in Großhabersdorf.

Cathcon- Bernhard Kroll was himself suspended after he took part in a Protestant communion service at the Ecumenical Church Day in 2003.

Comments

Anita Moore said…
Is that thing in the video a Catholic church, or something off the set of Hair?

I wish I could remember the name of the priest who wrote an article a couple of years ago making the connection between sexual deviancy and liturgical abuse.