In an act of defiance against the conservative stance of Cologne’s archbishop Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, several priests gathered outside Cologne Cathedral for a ceremony blessing same-sex couples. The protest was sparked by criticism in March directed at a priest from Mettmann, a town near Duesseldorf. He had conducted a “blessing ceremony for lovers,” including Read more
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
Four German bishops voted on Tuesday against funding the synod committee preparing to introduce a permanent German synodal council to oversee the Church in Germany. The four bishops are Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne and three bishops from Bavaria: Gregor Maria Hanke, OSB, of Eichstätt; Stefan Oster of Passau; and Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg. Read more
The head of the commission to investigate abuse in the Archdiocese of Cologne has resigned, saying he wondered if its main aim was to protect Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki. The German Catholic news agency KNA reported Stephan Rixen has stepped down as head of the Independent Commission for the Investigation of Abuse in the Archdiocese Read more
German Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki is calling for a fresh start in Cologne, Germany’s largest Catholic archdiocese, but raised eyebrows after describing the pope as an “old man.” The cardinal wants to remain archbishop, but is placing his fate in the hands of the pope, Woelki told a closed diocesan pastoral council meeting in the Read more
The head of the German Bishops’ Conference on Monday pressed for a quick decision from Pope Francis on the future of a prominent archbishop who faces strong criticism for his handling of the church’s sexual abuse scandal. Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, the archbishop of Cologne, said that he had offered his resignation to the pontiff 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
Many German Catholics have been left bewildered by Pope Francis’ decision to confirm Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki as Cardinal Archbishop of Cologne. Francis has also granted Woelki several months to reflect on the events that led him to offer the pontiff his resignation. The reaction of German conference president, Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, to 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