The Taxpayers' Association of North Rhine-Westphalia sharply criticized the payment of the full salary to the Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki during his break.
"If remuneration continues to be paid without the actual work being done, that is not okay," said budget expert Markus Berkenkopf of the "Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung" (Thursday edition).
Esseen / Cologne - The time-out is equivalent to an exemption and should be made without pay.
The archbishopric had announced that Woelki will continue to receive his full monthly salary of almost 13,800 euros.
"A spiritual break is not a vacation," the archdiocese had justified on Wednesday.
Woelki is still in office in his time-out, which will last until the beginning of March, and therefore receives his full salary according to civil servant grade B10, which corresponds to the salary of a Lord Mayor.
He wants to donate “a considerable part of it” to victims of abuse.
The taxpayers' association does not allow this to apply.
Berkenkopf told the "WAZ" that it was about "the basic process of further payment."
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The chairman of the German Bishops' Conference now resolutely contradicts this.
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Woelki had announced that he would initially go into a retreat - spiritual reflection - for 30 days.
Afterwards he wanted to “find out more about their ways of pastoral care in neighboring churches, perhaps in those of the Netherlands”.
The archdiocese has been in a crisis since Woelki decided a year ago not to publish an opinion on how those responsible for the diocese deal with allegations of abuse.
Pope Francis had the situation in the Archdiocese of Cologne investigated by two authorized representatives.
In September the Pope decided that Woelki could remain in office despite “big mistakes”.
However, he complied with Woelki's request for a break.
On Tuesday, the Cologne Auxiliary Bishop Rolf Steinhäuser took over the official duties as apostolic administrator until Woelki's return.
dpa
