German monastery raided over child sex abuse claims
By Diana Magnay
March 3, 2010 9:56 a.m. EST
A file picture shows the monastery church in Ettal, Germany.STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Monastery school raided after former students claim abuse
Allegations date back to 1950s, 1970s and 1980s
Berlin, Germany (CNN) -- Authorities have raided a monastery in southern Germany as part of a probe into allegations that priests sexually abused children there, prosecutors said.
Eight former students at the Ettal Abbey boarding school have reported that they were abused in 1954 and in the 1970s and '80s, the abbey has said in a statement. The head of the monastery and the school headmaster stepped down last week.
Investigators with the Munich State Prosecutors Office visited the Benedictine Abbey of Ettal on Tuesday afternoon as part of their ongoing investigation into allegations of sexual abuse of underage children by priests there.
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Nearly every day since the end of January, people have come forward to report cases of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Germany. News reports put the number of cases at about 150.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/03/03/germany.abuse/index.html?hpt=T2