29th March, 2021
The archbishop of Hamburg, Stefan Hesse has resigned his appointment after allegations that he ignored sexual abuses in his diocese of Cologne.
According to the Hamburg Diocese, Pope Francis has accepted his resignation.
This was after German lawyers released an 800- page report on sexual abuse cases in the city of Cologne.
The investigative report identified 75 cases which eight high-rank officials including the archbishop neglected.
The archbishop was faulted for neglecting his duties in 11 cases which made him offer to resign.
The report covered abuses from 1975 to 2018. Around 202 people within Cologne Archdiocese suspectedly were involved in abuse and 63 percent of the number were clerics.
According to the report, 47 percent of the allegations pertained to sexual abuse or serious sexual abuse.
Others were classified as boundary violations and other sexual misconduct.
The report was commissioned by the Cologne archdiocese.