Since allegations of abuse against the former Catholic bishop of Essen in western Germany became public last year, seven further accusations of sexualized violence have come to light. The additional allegations against the late Cardinal Franz Hengsbach, who died in 1991, were disclosed on Monday by the vicar general of Essen, Klaus Pfeffer. He said independent researchers would now examine the allegations against Hengsbach in a major study that will be funded by the diocese of Essen and other Catholic institutions. Essen sits in the heart of the German industrial heartland of the Ruhr region, …