Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki (pictured), the Archbishop of Cologne, has announced his intention to take legal action after investigators on June 27 searched his residence and other buildings belonging to the Archdiocese of Cologne. The search operation involved approximately 30 police officers and four state prosecutors. According to KNA news agency, the cardinal’s lawyer, Bjoern Read more
German investigators conducted raids within the Archdiocese of Cologne as part of a perjury investigation targeting Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki. The probe is in connection with media coverage of sexual abuse scandals within the Catholic Church. The Cologne prosecutors confirmed that around 30 police officers searched six locations, including Woelki’s residence and an IT centre Read more
Cologne’s cardinal, Rainer Maria Woelki, for a second time, has offered his resignation to Pope Francis. Woelki has been facing strong criticism for several months for his responses to allegations of child abuse in the Church. He chose to take a five-month break from his duties last September after the Vatican report accused him of Read more
The pastoral council of the Archdiocese of Cologne met in mid-June with their local ordinary, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, and the mood was particularly tense. The 75 priests and lay Catholics who make up the parish council met just days after the conclusion of an apostolic visitation of the archdiocese. The Vatican investigation of the Read more
Pope Francis has ordered an apostolic visitation of the Archdiocese of Cologne, in Germany, to examine the pastoral situation and the handling of sexual abuse cases. The archdiocese said that the pope’s apostolic visitors would evaluate “possible mistakes” made by its leader, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki. “During the first half of June, the Holy See’s Read more
Catholic laypeople in the Archdiocese of Cologne want a local synod on how clergy sexual abuse is handled in the archdiocese. “We must make every effort to reestablish a genuine dialogue between the cardinal, senior members of the diocesan leadership and the grassroots of the church,” says Tim Kurzbach, president of the Cologne archdiocesan council Read more
Pressure is mounting on German Cardinal Woelki to act decisively on sexual abuse allegations in the archdiocese of Cologne. The number of Catholics leaving the church, centred on Cologne, has reached a record 1,000 a month. But Protestants are also voting with their feet. The Cologne archdiocese’s “sluggish” efforts to clear up the abuse scandal Read more