An abuse hotline set up by the Catholic Church in Germany melted down on its first day of operation as more than 4,000 alleged victims of paedophile and violent priests called in to seek counselling and advice. The numbers were far more than the handful of therapists assigned to deal with them could cope with. In the end only 162 out of 4,459 callers were given advice before the system was shut down. Andreas Zimmer, head of the project in the Bishopric of Trier, admitted that he wasn’t prepared for ‘that kind of an onslaught’. mass st peters basilica vatican Defence: The Pope celebrates Mass at the Vatican yesterday. The abuse hotline was set up as part of the Church’s attempt to win back trust in the face of escalating abuse claims that threaten Benedict’s papacy The hotline is the Church’s attempt to win back trust in the face of an escalating abuse scandal that threatens the papacy of German-born Pontiff Benedict XVI in Rome. Earlier this week it was alleged that an ally of the Pope, Bishop Mixa, beat children – a charge he has subsequently denied. Former girls […]