BERLIN — Nearly 2,700 people have called the church's sexual abuse hot line in Germany in the first three days it was operating, a Catholic church spokesman said Tuesday.
A team of psychologists and other experts had conversations with 394 people so far, ranging from several minutes up to an hour, Trier Diocese spokesman Stephan Kronenburg said.
"Most callers report cases of sexual abuse," he told The Associated Press.
The hot line – which began operating March 30 – received around 13,300 calls total in its first three days. Kronenburg said this worked out to about 2,670 people, as many called several times.
In addition, around 100 people used an online form to contact the service.
Most of the callers are people who say they were victims of sexual abuse or their relatives, with some callers also reporting cases of physical abuse, he said.
"The boundaries between both are often loose," Kronenburg added.
