"Fatally wrong sign at this time"

"We are pleased that parts of the student and parent body of the Ako by their absence have shown more sensitivity than the college management," it says in a statement. The "autocratic rule" of the rector had led to a "fatally wrong sign at this time," it continues. This had shown how "aloof and self-centred also the Jesuits on the holy mountain were until today". With this attitude and the personnel "so no reappraisal" was possible. "The rector Löwenstein exposes pupils to a Catholic loyalty dilemma, is an educational catastrophe at the expense of the children and serves only for the own adulation of the outdated institution. That fits thus to the anniversary and has tradition at the Ako", it says in the report further.

Association asks why students continue to attend Jesuit services

The association of the people affected voices their thoughts clearly: They demand that the Provincial of the Jesuits in the Central European Province, Father Bernhard Bürgler, recall the Ako Rector Father Martin Löwenstein, so that he "no longer stands in the way" of a reappraisal. The "good reputation" is more important "than the well-being and the self-determination of the children and young people", the association is sure. "While in the archdiocese of Cologne discussions with those affected are still possible, the dialogue has failed at the Ako. So if the inability to deal with this is the yardstick for attendance at a service, why do students still attend Jesuit services?", asks Patrick Bauer in the direction of the Ako students. Bauer, as a victim of sexual violence at the Ako, was a member of the Affected Persons Advisory Board in the Archdiocese of Cologne, but resigned from it in protest against Cardinal Woelki's actions. According to the „Eckiger Tisch", it was not invited to the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Ako.

Original text: Maximilian Mühlens

Translation: Mareike Graepel