BERLIN -- At least members of a prestigious Catholic boys' choir in Germany were physically or sexually abused between and , according to a report released Tuesday. Allegations involving the Domspatzen choir in Regensburg were among a spate of revelations of abuse by Roman Catholic clergy in Germany that emerged in In , lawyer Ulrich Weber was tasked with producing a report on what happened.
The report said that boys at the Domspatzen's school "with a high degree of plausibility" were victims of physical or sexual abuse, or both. It counted cases of physical violence and 67 of sexual violence, committed by a total of 49 perpetrators.
At the choir's pre-school, "violence, fear and helplessness dominated" and "violence was an everyday method," it said. Georg Ratzinger. Ratzinger has acknowledged slapping pupils after he took over the choir, though such punishments were commonplace in Germany at that time.
He also said he was aware of allegations of physical abuse at the elementary school and did nothing about it, but he was not aware of sexual abuse. It also cited criticism by victims of the Regensburg diocese's initial efforts to investigate past abuse.
It said that the bishop at the time the allegations surfaced, Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, bears "clear responsibility for the strategic, organizational and communicative weaknesses" of those efforts. Cardinal Mueller became the head of the Vatican's doctrine office in Pope Francis recently removed him from that job. More from CBS News. French court orders cop to pay woman who reported sexual assault. Bartender arrested over couple's deaths linked to tainted alcohol.
