There is a storm in the German Church after the presentation of the independent investigation into the management of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Cologne, commissioned by the archbishop, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, and illustrated in a press conference by the criminal law experts prof.
Bjorn Gercke and Kerstin Stirner.
The report covers the period from 1975 to 2018 and examines in detail 236 files with the aim of identifying any deficiencies and violations of the law, as well as those responsible.
And the results are merciless: 202 are responsible and 314 victims of sexual abuse that took place in the past in the archdiocese, among the largest in Germany.
For 63%, those responsible belong to the clergy.
"I am deeply ashamed", said card.
Woelki, condemning the "concealment" of events that took place in the past.
"The actions must also have consequences for members of the clergy," he said.
And in the diocese - and not only - the earthquake suffered: Woelki immediately exonerated the auxiliary bishop Dominikus Schwaderlapp, former vicar general, and the official Günter Assenmacher, responsible for the questions of the ecclesiastical court.
"I ask Pope Francis for his judgment", said Schwaderlapp, offering the Pope the resignation from office, because "I cannot be a judge of my own cause".
The auxiliary bishop added that he was ashamed "of having paid too little attention to what people feel, what they need and how the Church should behave with them".
As a further result, the current archbishop of Hamburg, Msgr.
Stefan Hesse, who in turn had been vicar general in Cologne, allegedly "violated his duties", and he too immediately offered the Pope his resignation, asking for his removal from office with immediate effect.
According to the experts, however, Cardinal Woelki is not responsible for omissions.