2023-07-08 05:00:37
Due to neglect, the three brothers, now 34, 35 and 37 years old, were taken away from their parents by the city of Vienna in the early 1990s and housed in the Edelhof in Lower Austria. The children’s home in Rohrbach an der Gölsen was then run by the order of the Sisters of the Poor Child Jesus. However, the three associate these nuns with humiliation and punishment, as research by Christoph Feurstein from the ORF’s “Thema” editorial team shows.
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„Thema“, 10.7.2023, ORF2.
For example, one of the three, Reinhard, reports regarding a pigsty with which he has bad memories: “If I wasn’t good, I was locked up with the pigs. It was said that if you can’t behave, you belong there anyway.” His brother Daniel spoke of humiliations that “never stopped”: “I was punished and therefore I wet the bed, and then I was punished once more. The next day I had to stand in the big room with the linen sheet put on over my head. And because that wasn’t humiliation enough, the sisters asked the other children to laugh at me.”
“Ten years of beatings, humiliation, humiliation”
From 1991 to 2001, the three boys were said to have been severely physically and mentally abused by nuns. The men who are no longer able to work complain regarding profound damage and far-reaching permanent consequences for their health. They are now demanding compensation from the Order, from the Diocese of St. Pölten and from the City of Vienna. “First and foremost, we want compensation for the suffering that was done to us. Beatings, humiliation, humiliation and other things for ten years. That’s why we’re suing,” said Reinhard.
The brothers are being represented in the ongoing proceedings by lawyer Christine Kolbitsch, who has been taking care of victims of abuse and violence for more than 30 years. “It was always regarding punishment. It was always regarding sanctions that were carried out in a really inhuman and humiliating way,” says Kolbitsch. The lawyer is demanding damages for her clients in the amount of between 130,000 and 280,000 euros of what was done to them.”
Order of nuns: “Always concerned regarding the well-being of the children”
The Congregation of the Sisters of the Poor Child Jesus might not be reached for comment. However, the statement of defense denies “that the plaintiff was tortured in the home (…) The sisters were always concerned regarding the well-being of the children.”
ORF In 2014, the children’s home in Rohrbach was relocated, and the new owners allowed “Thema” to film there to come to terms with the story
The diocese of St. Pölten also did not want to comment on the ongoing proceedings. In the statement of defense she denies any responsibility – with the argument that the order is autonomous: “The authority to intervene is only given if the diocesan bishop becomes aware of serious violations of canon law norms. That was not the case. In any case, the Diocese of St. Pölten cannot be accused of violating the duty of supervision.”
However, the brothers had already turned to the independent victim protection commission of the Catholic Church, the Klasnic Commission, in 2019. All three were then compensated.
According to the City of Vienna, controls were always unremarkable
Attorney Kolbitsch accuses the City of Vienna of “knowing it” because complaints have repeatedly been made to the city. The MA 11 responsible for child and youth welfare sees things differently. A social worker and a psychologist from MA 11 were in the Edelhof every month, press spokeswoman Ingrid Pöschmann told “Thema”. Violence was never mentioned to them.
Incidentally, if the court sees complicity in the current case with the city of Vienna, it has already announced that it will seek recourse from the state of Lower Austria. It was said that the home was already trusted to comply with Lower Austrian legislation.
ORF In an interview with “Thema” reporter Christoph Feurstein, Daniel and Reinhard K. told their story and also returned to the former home
The state of Lower Austria also did not want to comment on the ongoing proceedings. In the statement of defense it is once more argued that no irregularities were found during the controls at least once a year.
Today, Reinhard and Daniel hope that they will still get their rights – but apart from the fact that all defendants deny the allegations, they are also of the opinion that the allegations are time-barred. The court has already announced that it will decide in a first step whether and in which case this is actually the case.
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