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Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, Archbishop of Cologne: Waiting for a decision from the Pope
Photo: Marcel Kusch / dpa
Leading clergymen and lay representatives in the Archdiocese of Cologne want to protest against Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki with a boycott.
The chairman of the lay representation in the largest German diocese, the mayor of Solingen Tim Kurzbach (SPD), told the German Press Agency that he would stay away from the meeting of the diocesan pastoral council beginning on Monday evening, like many other delegates.
The Diocesan Pastoral Council is the Archbishop's main advisory body.
Kurzbach justified this by saying that the head of the archdiocese apparently wanted to keep a detailed discussion about the latest allegations against Woelki small.
Vicar General Guido Assmann - Woelki's deputy - failed to put this topic on the agenda from the outset as the only one.
"That has caused a large number of people not to go there: priests, full-time employees in the archdiocese and also laypeople."
He himself rejects this.
"Unbearable state of limbo"
"The mood in the archdiocese is at a new, absolute low point, and of course we urgently need to talk about it," said Kurzbach.
The current state of limbo is "intolerable".
Pope Francis asked Woelki months ago to apply for his resignation, but the Pope has not yet decided on this.
"We're in a kind of war of nerves between Cologne and Rome," said Kurzbach.
"The ones who suffer are the believers in the Archdiocese of Cologne."
Last week he spoke to someone who was employed by a Catholic institution and who raised his children in the Catholic faith.
Now they had revealed to him that they had left the church because of Cardinal Woelki.
'This father was cut to the core, he cried.
Such personal destinies are very close to me,” said Kurzbach.
A senior minister of the archdiocese confirmed that many felt that words and discussions were going nowhere.
»So many are now sending a clear signal that things cannot go on like this and are staying away from the diocesan pastoral council.
This is a new and unprecedented escalation.
The vast majority finally wants a fresh start and a clear signal from the cardinal that he is aiming for his resignation and is acting accordingly on the pope.«
Loss of confidence in large parts of the diocese
However, Woelki has made it clear several times that he only wants to resign from office if the Pope should recall him.
Instead, he appealed to all groups in the archdiocese to approach each other.
Christians must be "professionals in reconciliation," he said.
For example, he himself spoke to representatives of reform movements.
Kurzbach, on the other hand, emphasized that the current crisis is not a question of flow.
»We even know representative surveys.
And they show that there is a widespread loss of trust in the bishop from the diocese, which every pastor at the grassroots level can confirm.”
ala/dpa