Germany's Jesuits said today they plan to pay the victims of sexual abuse in the order's schools a "symbolic compensation" of at least 5,000 euro (£4,195).

Jesuit spokesman Thomas Busch said the order has not yet made a final decision on the amount that will be offered to some 200 victims who have been abused decades ago.

The order's head, the Reverend Stefan Kiechle, said in an interview with the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung that the compensation for all victims was likely to be a fixed amount in the range of 5,000 euro to 25,000 euro (£20,977).

Mr Busch said the statute of limitations for those cases has passed, but the order wants to apologise with a symbolic compensation to acknowledge their suffering.

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