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Cardinal Woelki (archive image)
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Marcel Kusch / dpa
The criminal lawyer Björn Gercke, who is preparing a new abuse report for the Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, has found breaches of duty of "still living officials" of the Catholic Church.
That's what Gercke told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger.
Woelki had classified the first report as unsatisfactory and therefore kept it under lock and key.
The law firm that made it denies the allegations.
In each case, it is examined how those responsible in the Archdiocese of Cologne have dealt with allegations of sexual abuse of children by priests in the past.
Gercke said the officials incriminated in his report are currently trying to dispel the allegations, but "not always succeeded".
Their behavior is "very, very different".
At the moment it is finally being examined what can be made public from the report.
"Today I am not giving too much away when I say: The reactions of one or the other potentially responsible person or his lawyers lead to the expectation that an oath could be made." Expert opinions can be presented.
The strong demand for appointments for leaving the church continues unabated in Cologne.
On Monday, all 1,500 online appointments for the month of May were fully booked after a few hours.
For the time being, there are no appointments for leaving the church in the fourth largest German city.
The next 1,500 dates for June would go live on April 1, a local court spokesman said.
In the past few weeks, the number of appointments has already been increased twice.
Woelki is heavily criticized for not having published the first report so far.
However, the former prefect of the Roman Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, asked for understanding.
"I find it shocking that a formal process is being instrumentalized to pursue ideological power politics," he told the dpa news agency.
Ultimately, it is a matter of doing justice to the injured party - the formal procedural rules are secondary.
"A bishop is not a political actor, but should be measured as the successor of the apostles by his service to the Gospel for the eternal salvation of men with God," emphasized Müller, former bishop of Regensburg.
The Catholic aid organization Misereor activated a new whistleblower portal on its website, on which violations can be reported.
"Misereor is very interested in that verifiable or suspected border crossings or even legal violations are reported," said managing director Thomas Antkowiak.
Particular attention was paid to the subject of abuse of power through sexual violence and exploitation.
The goal is an organizational culture of mindfulness, observation and intervention.
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wit / dpa