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Rainer Maria Woelki (archive): Cardinal is still under criticism
Photo: Oliver Berg / dpa
Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki will return to Cologne as archbishop - although he had recently canceled some appointments.
According to the "Rheinische Post", this emerges from a letter that the delegate of the Archdiocese, Markus Hofmann, sent to all employees.
According to the newspaper, it says that "on Ash Wednesday Archbishop Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki will take over the management of the Archdiocese of Cologne again after his spiritual break".
The responsibility of his representative Rolf Steinhäuser ends “at the end of March 1, 2022”.
Steinhäuser sees the Archdiocese of Cologne still in crisis.
"The spectacular miracle didn't materialize," he said in a greeting on his farewell.
»If you follow the polls, many rifts seem even deeper and more unbridgeable than before.
The problems are not solved.«
Auxiliary Bishop Steinhäuser led the largest German diocese in Woelki's absence and received a great deal of praise during this time.
His openness and his efforts towards transparency and new beginnings were particularly emphasized.
Unlike under Woelki, there was no longer an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, according to diocese circles.
Steinhäuser: "Blockades were lifted, threads of conversation were newly tied"
Steinhäuser expressed his gratitude for "many wonderful things" that he had experienced in the past five months.
"There was a time of relief for many, blockages were lifted, threads of conversation were re-established," he said.
'We don't know what's coming.
But: we will stay together.«
There had been a lot of criticism of Woelki's return.
Just over a week ago it became known that the cardinal would not hold a mass in Cologne Cathedral on March 2 on the occasion of the traditional "Ash Wednesday of Artists".
Woelki had already canceled his planned participation in an ecumenical service in Düsseldorf on March 5th.
Woelki triggered a crisis of confidence in the Catholic Church in 2020 when he decided not to publish an expert opinion from the Westpfahl Spilker Wastl law firm on how diocese officials deal with allegations of sexual abuse.
He cited legal reasons for doing so.
After that, the relationship between the cardinal, who was considered conservative and reserved, and the bodies of the archdiocese continued to deteriorate.
The number of people leaving the church in Cologne has risen sharply since then.
bbr/dpa
