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(LifeSiteNews) – A German bishop who served the Diocese of Santo Domingo de los Colorados in Ecuador for 17 years has been accused of sexual abuse and of funneling pedophile priests to Latin America during his tenure. 

On Monday, Aug. 8, the German Bishop’s Conference issued a statement following the publication of an independent legal investigation, in which they revealed that the late Bishop Emil Stehle (1926-2017) has been accused of sexual abuse in 16 cases.  

As head of Adveniat, the German Church’s organization for aid to Latin America, Stehle was also found to have assisted priests accused of sexual abuse evade charges by facilitating their escape to Latin American countries. This assistance included financial support, according to Lawyer and mediator Bettina Janssen, who prepared the 148-page-report on behalf of the Association of German Dioceses. 

The former head of the coordination office and later bishop of Santo Domingo in Ecuador (the current name of the diocese), Emil Stehle, helped priests who were prosecuted in Germany for sexualized violence to evade the law enforcement authorities. He himself is also accused of sexual abuse,” the bishops’ statement declared. 

“In the 1970s,” the statement detailed, “Emil Stehle supported three priests in evading the criminal proceedings pending in Germany. In two cases, the priests were sought for sexual offences against minors, in one the accusation could not be inferred from the files. Through name codes, camouflage addresses and maintenance aids, Stehle ensured that they could remain covert in Latin America.” 

The bishops stated, “The investigation by the lawyer and mediator Dr. Bettina Janssen also included minutes of conversations with current and former Adveniat employees as well as reports from eight affected women who had come forward since the publication of the Hildesheim abuse study on 14 September 2021.” 

In the report, Dr. Jassen indicated that there was further work to be done to reach a more complete assessment. “In order to obtain a more complete picture,” Jassen said, “the question of the extent to which Stehle’s attacks were known to the competent church authorities and what consequences they have taken against them must also be further investigated.” 

This is not the first time the Stehle case has received public attention. CNA Deutsch has previously reported on these allegations in September 2021 and June 2022. The investigation is ongoing. 

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