Reader’s Letter to DEUTSCHE WELLE ON-LINE (Germany) and to the Adelaide Advertiser (Australia) of 4.6.2004 and to the remainder of all the print and broadcasting media worldwide:

Rampant institutional child abuse, perpetrated in church institutions !

With regard to the now exposed rampant institutional child abuse in German church institutions which occurred continuously for four decades after the war [ see article of 30.05.04 on DEUTSCHE WELLE ON-LINE @ http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1430_A_1220276_1_A,00.html ], German authorities and church leaders of today in cleaning up their act (as well as all those countries that have similar scandals emerging, including Australia (particularly South Australia, which is currently very much in the media’s eye)) should take a leaf out of the book of the Canadians, viewable at "Institutional Child Abuse : Apologising for Serious Wrongdoing : Law Commission of Canada" @ http://www.lcc.gc.ca/en/themes/mr/ica/2000/html/apology.asp and at @ "Institutional Child Abuse – Restoring Dignity : Responding to Child Abuse in Canadian Institutions : Law Commission of Canada" @ http://www.lcc.gc.ca/en/themes/mr/ica/2000/html/restore1.asp.

See, too, "[ What child abuse victims may reasonably expect from the churches ]" @ http://www.hwforums.com/2004/messages/194.html(a translation into German), and the German institutional child abuse victims’ Webpage "DiakonieFreistatt.de.vu" @ www.freistatt.de.vu. (where the English original of the aforementioned article can be found).

German institutional child abuse victims hope that this Letter will be published.

International spokes person for the German "Heimkinder" victims: Martin Mitchell, Adelaide, Australia for (internationally) *Union of (now activist) adults abused as children in church homes in Germany, 1945-1985* und (throughout Germany) *Federal Association of German children severely abused in Institutional Care, 1945-1985*

[ PLEASE NOTE: An accurate copy of this "Readers Letter" was sent to DEUTSCHE WELLE ON-LINE and to the Adelaide Advertiser, and to all German and English language print and broadcasting media around the world today: 4. June 2004. FEEDBACK would be appreciated. ]

Revised Version

[ Date of first publication on this Website: 4 June 2004 ]