The search operation involved approximately 30 police officers and four state prosecutors.

According to KNA news agency, the cardinal's lawyer, Bjoern Gercke, expressed concern over the apparent leak of information and the timing of the search's disclosure to the media.

Gercke announced his intention to file a criminal complaint against unidentified individuals for breaching confidentiality.

Gercke also criticised certain media outlets, pointing out that journalists had gathered at the archbishop's door half an hour before the investigators arrived.

"We would have voluntarily provided everything the prosecution needed," the lawyer emphasised, rendering the raid unnecessary.

The motive behind the searches was an ongoing investigation into Cardinal Woelki, who stands accused of providing false testimony under oath in court.

The prosecutor's office confirmed that properties in six locations were searched, commencing at 8am local time.

Among the sites were the offices of the vicar general, the diocesan tribunal, the archbishop's residence and the offices of the archdiocese's IT email service provider.

"The measures are directed toward the investigation into a merely initial suspicion and in this respect toward the establishment of both incriminating and exonerating circumstances," the state prosecutor's office said.

Woelki denies foreknowledge of allegations

To avoid misinterpretation, the office clarified, "it is also explicitly pointed out that the accused is in no way charged with actively or even passively covering up or even participating in acts of abuse," KNA reported.

Cardinal Woelki has been battling media reports suggesting that he had prior knowledge of allegations against a priest before reassigning him.

In response, the Archdiocese of Cologne stated on June 27 that examining business documents and emails would determine whether the accusation of a testimony-related offence against the cardinal could be substantiated or refuted.

The investigation aims to ascertain when Cardinal Woelki became aware of incriminating documents involving two priests engaged in sexual relations with minors.

Regarding the allegations against Winfried Pilz, the former leader of the Cologne carolers, Cardinal Woelki firmly denies any foreknowledge. Similarly, he denies having prior knowledge of the other priest's case, as the individual had been transferred to another diocese upon retiring in 2012.

The Archdiocese of Cologne cautioned that it would likely take some time before the investigation yielded conclusive results. Accordingly, they urged the public to refrain from making premature judgments based on an ongoing investigation.

Sources

America Magazine

DW

CathNews New Zealand

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 responsible for handling Church emails.

In a statement, the prosecutors clarified that the searches proceeded smoothly and encountered significant cooperation from the sites involved.

The prosecutors also emphasised that the accusations against Woelki do not suggest any active or passive involvement in covering up or participating in acts of abuse.

"In terms of content, the main issue in each case is whether Cardinal Woelki had any knowledge at all and, if so, at what specific point in time, of allegations of abuse levelled against two clerics," Cologne Prosecutor Ulf Willuhn told reporters.

Cardinal Woelki, aged 66, has faced intense criticism for his handling of widespread child molestation cases involving clergy members, including allegations that he assisted in concealing abuse committed by two priests in Duesseldorf, one of whom has since passed away.

The Cologne prosecutor's office initiated the investigation into Woelki following a criminal complaint filed by a layperson last month.

The suspicion of perjury stems from Woelki's testimony during a media rights hearing against Bild newspaper in late March. In his testimony, Woelki claimed never to have read two documents about a priest accused of abuse and denied being aware of their contents.

However, it is alleged that he referenced the information contained in those documents, which included details of sexual misconduct by the priest against young individuals, in a letter sent to the Vatican in 2018.

Vatican visitation ordered by Pope

Under German law, perjury carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, with a minimum penalty of one year behind bars.

The German criminal justice system has recently taken a proactive stance in prosecuting offences related to sexual abuse scandals that have plagued the Roman Catholic Church over the past few decades.

In a potentially groundbreaking case, a German court earlier this month ordered the Cologne archdiocese to pay €300,000 ($328,000) in damages to a victim of repeated sexual abuse by a priest.

Previously, the Church in Germany had made "voluntary" payments totalling approximately €40 million to victims.

A study commissioned by the German Bishops' Conference in 2018 revealed that between 1946 and 2014, 1,670 clergymen had committed some form of sexual assault against 3,677 minors.

Authorities believe that the actual number of victims may be significantly higher.

In response to a damning report on child sex abuse, including an examination of potential mistakes made by Woelki, Pope Francis ordered an apostolic visitation of the Cologne archdiocese in 2021.

The visitation aims to investigate the handling of abuse cases within the diocese.

Following the raids, Thomas Schueller, an expert in canon law at the University of Muenster, told the newspaper Rheinische Post that "it is now up to Woelki to decide for himself whether to pull the ripcord.

"However, his behaviour so far shows that he is clinging to his bishop's chair and puts his personal well-being above that of the Archdiocese of Cologne," Schueller said.

Sources

UCA News

National Catholic Reporter

CathNews New Zealand

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 "major mistakes" in his handling of reports of sexual abuse at the hands of priests.

The Pope will make a decision about Woelki's resignation "in due course".

In the meantime, Woelki is expected to remain in his post.

The reports leading to Woelki's offers of resignation were both commissioned by him.

In 2019, the Cologne archdiocese commissioned the law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl to examine relevant personnel files from 1975 onward.

The aim was to determine "which personal, systemic or structural deficits were responsible in the past for incidents of sexual abuse being covered up or not being punished consistently".

Woelki cited legal reasons for not releasing the information after archdiocesan lawyers raised concerns about "methodological deficiencies" in the study.

He then commissioned criminal law expert Professor Björn Gercke to write a new report.

The 800-page Gercke report examined 236 files in detail with the aim of identifying failures and violations of the law, as well as those responsible for them.

It found hundreds of cases of suspected sexual abuse in the archdiocese between 1975 and 2018. Most victims were under 14 years old.

In a Lenten pastoral letter published on Wednesday, Woelki said "Certainly, I realise that the situation has not become any easier since October last year. A time-out in itself does not solve any problems".

He added that any reconciliation could "only be contemplated, attempted and concretely undertaken in cooperation", not by taking time out from each other.

Source

• CNA
• DW
• Image: DW

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 largest archdiocese in Germany had been ordered by Pope Francis.

The meeting also followed a demonstration by a group of Catholics who walked from their parish some 30 km to demand that the cardinal resign.

The cause of the tension relates to Cardinal Woelki's refusal to publish an independent report on sex abuse in the archdiocese.

He had previously vowed to make the report public.

The 64-year-old cardinal set up a victims' council and commissioned a law firm to write up the report. But at a meeting with the council in October 2020, he backtracked and said he would not allow the report to be published.

Patrick Bauer, one of the council's members, said it was a "terrible meeting" that left the victims feeling betrayed.

To show his disappointment, he resigned from the victims' council. Soon others followed.

The cardinal then commissioned a second report, which was published last March.

But this has done nothing to ease tensions.

"All the people mentioned in the second report were mentioned in the first," said Bauer, who had access to both files.

"The only difference is that the first report looked at the systemic dimension of the abuse and its cover-up. The second one only looked at individual cases," said another person who also saw both documents.

Many argue that this is the real reason why Woelki decided to publish only the second report.

The ongoing crisis surrounding Cardinal Woelki comes when the Catholic church in Cologne sees members leaving in large numbers.

Discontent is largely fuelled by paedophilia scandals. But, many German Catholics are also demanding radical changes for a more inclusive church.

In Cologne's administrative court is an office where dozens of people come every day to officially leave the Catholic church.

Followers of all faiths in Germany are required to pay a tax to finance the religious institutions they belong to. This is registered by tax authorities.

The demand to leave the Catholic Church is so high, that the deregistration office has increased the number of appointments it offers from 600 to 1800 a month.

In defiance of Vatican doctrine, the blessing of homosexual unions is one of the expressions of a growing reform movement in Germany.

There is also a growing demand for equal rights for women in the church.

In the light of growing discontent within its institutions, the bishops' conference and the central committee of German Catholics are exploring ways to reform the church. In 2019, they launched a vast debate referred to as the 'Synodal Path'. Their conclusions are due in 2022.

The winds of change are blowing through the Catholic church in Germany.

That's why there is a campaign for reform and also for more plurality in the Church. Followers want more openness, and all believers want to stop more people leaving.

Only the future can tell whether these reforms will come to fruition.

Sources

La Croix International

EuroNews

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 envoys will visit the archdiocese to get a comprehensive picture of the complex pastoral situation in the archdiocese," the statement said.

It added that the visitors would also examine possible errors committed by Archbishop Stefan Hesse of Hamburg, who was Cologne archdiocese's vicar general from 2012 to 2015, and the Cologne auxiliaries Bishop Dominikus Schwaderlapp and Bishop Ansgar Puff.

Woelki welcomed the apostolic visitation saying, "I welcome the fact that with the apostolic visitation the pope wants to get his own picture of the independent investigation and its consequences."

The apostolic visitors will be Cardinal Anders Arborelius of Stockholm and Bishop Johannes van den Hende of Rotterdam, president of the Dutch bishops' conference, reported CNA Deutsch.

"I will support Cardinal Arborelius and Bishop van den Hende in their work with full conviction. I welcome every measure that will help to ensure accountability."

The 64-year-old cardinal announced in December 2020 that he had asked Pope Francis to review the decisions he took regarding an accused priest 'Pastor O' in 2015.

Woeki, who was appointed archbishop of Cologne in 2014, has faced calls to resign since the archdiocese controversially declined to publish a report by the Munich law firm Westphal Spilker Wastl.

In January 2019, the archdiocese commissioned the law firm to examine relevant personnel files from 1975 onwards. Their brief was to determine "which personal, systemic or structural deficits were responsible in the past for incidents of sexual abuse being covered up or not being punished consistently."

Lawyers advising the archdiocese raised concerns about "methodological deficiencies" in the law firm's study. Woelki then commissioned Cologne-based criminal law expert Professor Björn Gercke to write a new report.

The Gercke document, more than 800 pages in length, covers the period from 1975 to 2018 with the goal of identifying any legal missteps or violations, as well as those responsible.

Specifically, the Report refers to 314 victims of sexual abuse, all but one of them minors, and 202 aggressors, nearly two-thirds of whom are clergy.

Sources

Catholic News Agency

Vatican news

"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 of Catholics.

On March 18, the law firm Gercke Wollschläger released a report on how clergy sexual abuse was handled in the archdiocese.

The report showed that in 24 of 236 files studied, an investigation found 75 breaches of duty by eight officials.

The officials include archbishops, vicars general and personnel managers.

Among those accused are Hamburg's Archbishop Stefan Hesse and Cologne's Auxiliary Bishop Dominik Schwaderlapp, as well as two former archbishops of Cologne, now deceased: Cardinals Joachim Meisner and Joseph Höffner.

Pope Francis has granted Hesse leave of absence from his duties as archbishop.

Schwaderlapp has been suspended from his duties until further notice and has offered his resignation to Francis.

Cologne's Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki was not incriminated.

He later said, however, "It's not just about doing the right thing, it's about doing everything humanly possible. And I didn't do that."

The archdiocesan council — which represents laypeople — says it hope a synod will lead to improved communication and "a new beginning based on sincerity and honesty."

It also hopes the synod will create a binding framework for the future and address the systemic causes of sexual abuse.

Kurzbach says the synod should be prepared by a working group and led jointly by the diocesan leadership and laypeople and that everyone involved in the church should be able to participate.

This working group should include equal numbers of representatives from the archdiocesan leadership and grassroots membership; councils, associations and women's groups also should be included.

A diocesan synod is defined by church law as an assembly of clergy and laypeople of a diocese convened by a bishop.

It is usually presided over by the bishop and advises him. The bishop determines the issues to be addressed and decides which resolutions come into force.

Since the turn of this century there has only been one German diocesan synod so far.

That one took place in the Diocese of Trier from 2013 to 2016.

Some of its resolutions, including the creation of leadership teams for parishes in which clergy and laypeople participate equally in management, were later corrected in response to Vatican directives.

Source

• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: National Catholic Reporter

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 were driving Protestants out of the Church, President Manfred Rekowski of the Protestant Church in the Rhineland told the Evangelical Press Service (epd).

"There is such a thing as a joint ecumenical liability. It is stressful and I hope things will be cleared up soon", Rekowski said.

"Anything that gives the impression of being obscure or that the Church has only little interest in clearing up abuse is fatal."

The Cologne crisis was triggered by the refusal of Cardinal Woelki to publish the report he commissioned on how priestly sexual abuse had been handled in the archdiocese.

In December, Woekli asked Pope Francis to examine the accusations made against him. He has pledged to issue a new report on the investigation's findings in March. The cardinal said the report will "name those responsible".

He is also being faulted for not investigating serious allegations against a Düsseldorf priest alleged to have abused a boy of kindergarten age in the late 1970s. After he was appointed Archbishop of Cologne in 2014, he decided not to notify Rome. Woekli reasoned the priest, who has since died, was suffering from advanced dementia and the scandal would benefit nobody.

Meanwhile, Germany's secular panel on sexualized violence against children says Cologne's Catholic archdiocese has "severely damaged" moves to own up to its abusive past.

Cologne's archbishopric "severely damaged" the process of owning up to decades of sexualized violence against children in its ranks. This is demanded by victims and lay Catholics, a top secular German panel found on Monday.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse — a commission mandated by parliament since 2016 to probe cases across German society — decried the diocese's own internal review, saying this must be done instead by outsiders.

Sources

• The Tablet
• DW