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Archdiocese of Cologne: Rainer Maria Woelki wants to interpret abuse reports for inspection

2021-03-05T14:41:15.154Z


The Archdiocese of Cologne has been keeping an abuse report under lock and key for a good year. After the public pressure on Cardinal Woelki continues to grow, insights should now be possible from March 25th.


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Rainer Maria Woelki: Insight for "those affected, media representatives and the interested public"

Photo: Marcel Kusch / dpa

The content of the abuse report previously held back by the Archdiocese of Cologne should now be able to be made public.

The archdiocese wants to open it for inspection from March 25th for “those affected, media representatives and the interested public themselves”.

The Archdiocese announced that they could take a look at this after registering in advance.

A link for online registration will be announced in the next few days.

The Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki has been under criticism for weeks because he has not yet published the expert report commissioned by him on how diocese officials deal with allegations of sexual abuse of children by priests due to legal concerns.

Since the completion of the report by the Munich law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl (WSW) about a year ago, he has kept it under lock and key with reference to alleged defects.

The archbishopric threatened a pastor who criticized this with consequences.

Publication rejected by the law firm

Woelki had also commissioned the Cologne criminal lawyer Björn Gercke to prepare a new report.

This is to be presented at a press conference on March 18 and then published on the archbishopric's website.

The first »results and consequences« from this report are to be presented at a further press conference on March 23rd.

Both reports examined how those responsible for the Archdiocese of Cologne dealt with allegations of sexual abuse of children by priests in the past.

A few days ago Gercke had told the "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger" that he had found breaches of duty by "still living officials" of the Catholic Church.

It is not known why Woelki now wants to make the content of the report accessible to the public despite the "concerns about the right of expression".

The reviewers had previously offered to publish their work at their own risk and to assume the liability risks.

Woelki declined the offer, however.

The "publication of an unlawful report," the press office said at the time, could not be approved.

The report is "unsuitable" because of its technical defects.

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apr / dpa

Source: spiegel

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