Protestant Church in Germany sets standards for handling sexual abuse

HANOVER- Germany’s major Protestant churches have agreed on binding standards on how to deal with allegations of sexual misconduct or violence. The standards will apply throughout the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD), an umbrella organisation of several mainstream Protestant denominations, and Diakonie Deutschland. Diakonie Deutschland is a major social welfare organisation affiliated with the EKD, which runs numerous institutions and charitable groups. The joint declaration was signed on Wednesday by leaders of EKD and Diakonie as well as the German government’s independent commissioner for child sexual abuse issues, Kerstin Claus. According to Claus and the EKD, the standards were largely drawn up by advocates for those affected by sexual abuse. “After the long phase of negotiations, it is now important that the regional churches and regional Diakonie organisations to implement the joint declaration comprehensively and bindingly as quickly as possible and that there are no further delays,’’ said Claus. The joint declaration will create nine regional independent review commissions made up of experts from academia, the judiciary, victims’ groups as well as the churches and charitable organisations. The EKD said …

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Christmas: German Churches Prepare for Services in Stadiums, Squares

By Our Reporter Hanover (Precise Post) – Protestant Church of Germany (EKD) is gearing up for Christmas services in football stadiums and on market squares in order to adapt to ongoing coronavirus restrictions. There will also be church services in drive-in cinemas, the church announced on Tuesday in the northern German city of Hanover. The church said that in addition to the deployment of many volunteers, there would be cooperation with the fire brigade and technical relief organisations so that people could celebrate safely in central locations. In the eastern city of Cottbus, for example, preliminary talks for a Christmas service in the city stadium have been going on for several weeks. The congregations were preparing for possible alternatives to church services, EKD Council Chairman Heinrich Bedford-Strohm said in an interview with broadcasters RTL and ntv. According to him, in addition to digital formats and broadcasts on television and radio, people want to go out of their homes. “We want to be in the middle of places: in the market squares, on football fields, maybe also on the edge of …

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