Johann Meier (clergyman)

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Johann Meier (born October 7, 1923 in Falkenstein ; † July 13, 1992 there) was a German Roman Catholic priest and boarding school director of the elementary school of the Regensburger Domspatzen .

Life

Johann Meier took part in the Second World War as a Wehrmacht soldier from July 1942 to April 1945 and was held as an American prisoner of war until August 1945. After studying at the state philosophy-theological college in Regensburg , he was ordained a priest on June 29, 1951 . He then worked as a chaplain in Vohburg an der Donau . On September 1, 1953, Meier took the position of prefect at the Regensburg Cathedral Square, where some of the boarding school students of the Regensburger Domspatzen music school were housed. In 1957 he was appointed seminar leader of the elementary school of the music high school in Etterzhausen and director of the “Etterzhausen Foundation of the Regensburger Domspatzen”, which acted as the school body. In October 1958 Johann Meier was promoted to director of the "School and Music Boarding School of Regensburger Domspatzen in Etterzhausen". He also held this position after the boarding school moved to Pielenhofen in 1981. In January 1992, Meier retired.

Abuse of the Regensburger Domspatzen

In connection with the reporting of sexual assault in church institutions, former boarding school students spoke up in March 2010 and accused Meier of years of physical abuse and sadistic punishments. According to the interim report of a lawyer commissioned by the diocese in January 2016, twelve boys have been identified who had been sexually abused in Etterzhausen and Pielenhofen, and 216 who had been physically abused. The former cathedral music director Georg Ratzinger , who was on the board of trustees of the school foundation at the time, stated in an interview from the beginning of March 2010 that he did not know anything about Meier's brutal methods and did not speak about sexual assault in the cathedral sparrows' facilities. In the same report, however, it becomes clear that Georg Ratzinger knew about the beatings at the music high school and that "Director Johann Meier gave very violent slaps in the face". According to a report in the Mittelbayerische Zeitung , a student in Etterzhausen / Pielenhofen was injured so badly during Johann Meier's time as director, specifically in 1966, that his mother filed a complaint.

In a commemorative publication on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the music high school, however, Ratzinger paid tribute to Meier's work. Accordingly, after almost 40 years of selfless activity, his upbringing style was no longer understood in modern times.

In the course of coming to terms with attacks in Domspatzen boarding schools, former pupils affected by violence demanded, through Bishop Voderholzer , that Meier posthumously revoke the papal honorary title of "Monsignore". According to the legal opinion of the Vatican, withdrawal can only take place in the case of living people. The demand thus remained without consequences.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Schematism of the diocese of Regensburg. 1968, p. XI.
  2. ^ The men with the key ring report of the Süddeutsche Zeitung of March 9, 2010.
  3. ↑ a b More cases of abuse at the Domspatzen report by the Mittelbayerische Zeitung from January 8, 2016.
  4. ^ Ratzinger's confession. Report of the Süddeutsche Zeitung from March 9, 2010.
  5. ↑ Domspatzendirektor Meier and his (ex) friends. Research on regensburg-digital from December 15, 2015.
  6. ^ Monsignor disposed of by the church. Report on regensburg-digital from February 18, 2016.
personal data
SURNAME Meier, Johann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Roman Catholic priest, director of the Regensburger Domspatzen school and music boarding school
DATE OF BIRTH October 7, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH Falkenstein
DATE OF DEATH July 13, 1992
Place of death Falkenstein