Catholic priest who abused children in Germany dismissed

The Catholic Church has dismissed a priest who abused children in the western German state of North Rhine Westphalia for years and was sentenced to a long prison term, the archbishop of Cologne said on Thursday, reported dpa.

In a statement issued by the archdiocese of Cologne, German Cardinal and Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki said the dismissal was more than appropriate.

"Even if I know that it cannot make up for the suffering of those affected," Woelki said and added that he stood for prevention and transparency. The dismissal is the most severe punishment for a cleric provided for by canon law.

The decision was made by Pope Francis at Woelki's request in 2022.

The clergyman thus loses all rights and privileges associated with priestly ordination, and may no longer engage in pastoral work.

The priest had been sentenced to 12 years in prison by a German court in February 2022.

He had sexually abused nine girls, in different cities, some of them severely, from 1993 to 2018. The youngest victim was only 9 years old.

There had been previous investigations into the priest in 2010, but these were initially dropped. They were only resumed after an internal investigation led by the archdiocese of Cologne's intervention centre for abuse.