Peter Hullermann

Peter Hullermann (born 5 October 1947, in Gelsenkirchen) In accordance with then-standard procedure within the Church, the allegations were not reported to police but instead Hullermann was removed from his parish assignment and sent to undergo psychiatric therapy.

Assignment to pastoral work in Munich The psychiatrist treating Hullermann, Dr Werner Huth, set three conditions when he started treating Hullermann: the priest should not be allowed to work with children, he should give up alcohol (because he allegedly committed the acts of abuse when he was drunk), and he must be supervised at all times by a mentor. The doctor said he made these requirements clear to church officials during a number of conversations, including an auxiliary bishop in the archdiocese of Munich and Freising.

In March 2010, Gruber assumed full responsibility for the decision to readmit Hullermann to pastoral care work, emphasizing that he made this decision on his own, without consulting the cardinal, saying "The repeated employment of [Hullermann] in parish ministry was a grave mistake. I take full responsibility for it." Gruber's letter also justified the reassignment of Hullermann, despite the explicit warning against this course of action from his psychiatrist, on the grounds that Dr Huth "had not ruled out" a positive outcome. Gruber repeated his assumption of full responsibility for the assignment, and said that he did not discuss the matter with Ratzinger. Gruber said that at that time, it was common to give a priest another chance if he expressed regret and was determined to be rehabilitated. Church officials subsequently contacted Dr Huth, who was "horrified" to hear that Hullermann was still working with children. Parishioners at Bad Tölz described Hullermann as friendly, down to earth and popular with churchgoers, especially children and teenagers. Joseph Obermaier, the responsible chief of the department of pastoral of the archdiocese who had reassigned Hullermann to Bad Tölz, resigned in the wake of the revelations, admitting to "grave errors".