Vienna Boys' Choir apology over abuse allegations
Monday, March 22, 2010
The president of the Vienna Boys' Choir apologized Monday on behalf of the famed institution as the number of abuse allegations rose to 11, up from eight last week.
President Walter Nettig also pledged to hold more in-depth conversations with all potential victims and offered support to anyone who wanted counseling.
"And we apologize in the name of the institution," Nettig told the Austria Press Agency.
Nettig said most of the callers to the choir's hot line reported overly harsh discipline methods rather than sexual abuse. The sexually related allegations revolve around abuse attempts rather than actual assaults, he said. Some alleged incidents date back 40 or 50 years.
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The recent series of abuse allegations came about after a local newspaper reported earlier this month that two former members, both now adults, recalled incidents of sexual abuse and "merciless discipline."
The Vienna Boys' Choir is not church-affiliated. However, the allegations coincide with an ongoing string of abuse claims against members of Austria's Catholic Church
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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/03/22/international/i084409D05.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0ivwmSHeY