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Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki (archive image)
Photo:
Andreas Arnold / dpa
Such a step should not have taken place so often in the Catholic Church: The believers in the largest German diocese officially terminate their trust and cooperation with the Archbishop of Cologne.
The Diocesan Council - representing the practicing Catholics in the parishes - stood up against Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki in an extraordinary general assembly.
A crisis that has been smoldering for months has thus reached its peak.
"It is almost unbelievable how the management of the archdiocese behaves", criticized the chairman of the diocesan council, the Solingen mayor Tim Kurzbach (SPD).
“We are in the greatest church crisis we have all ever experienced.
The Archbishop of Cologne failed as a moral authority and has shown no demeanor to this day. "
Woelki has been criticized for months for holding back an expert report commissioned by himself.
This report examines how archdiocese officials have reacted in the past when priests have been accused of sexually abusing children.
The report from the renowned law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl is ready, but Woelki is keeping it under lock and key - he justifies this with legal concerns.
The Diocesan Council asks Woelki to accept the office's offer to publish the report on its website at its sole responsibility.
As a consequence of Woelki's behavior, the Diocesan Council is suspending its work on the so-called Pastoral Future Path.
It is about the reorganization of the communities in the archdiocese - one could call it Woelki's main project.
"A basis of trust must first be created for further cooperation," said Kurzbach.
First, the whole truth about abuse must be on the table - only then can one think of continuing the cooperation.
The uprising in the 1700-year-old Cologne diocese is extensive.
"We have written in writing from almost every city and district dean, from every association, from dozens of parishes, from over 50 priests, how deep the breach of trust goes," said Kurzbach.
That has never happened before.
Woelki has not only gambled away the trust through the reluctance of the expert opinion, he also makes negative headlines in series.
The website of the Catholic University Community in Cologne was shut down after it had published a critical paper.
The archdiocese threatened a pastor who had sharply criticized Woelki with consequences.
The list goes on.
At the moment, all appointments for leaving the church at the Cologne District Court are fully booked.
"Now we have to act here in the Diocese of Cologne."
Tim Kurzbach, chairman of the diocesan council
Little or nothing has been heard from Woelki about all of this - except for a brief statement in the Christmas mass in which he asked the believers for forgiveness for constantly having to endure criticism of their archbishop.
A former colleague of Woelkis says that the cardinal is not aware of any wrongdoing, but rather believes in a conspiracy of the media: "It is the journalists who want harm to him because he is so conservative within the church."
The Diocesan Council hopes that Woelki will no longer hide, but will finally take a stand.
"I very much hope that this serious and significant step will lead to a rethinking of the previous strategy," says Kurzbach.
“Now is no longer the time to hide behind files, wait for legal reports or wait for Rome.
Now we have to act here in the Diocese of Cologne. "
The question is whether this will actually happen.
An archbishop cannot be voted out - only the Pope could dethrone him.
In the Vatican, however, the Eminence from Cologne should have the best connections.
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wit / dpa / AFP
