Vicar General: Woelki will take over again on Wednesday

Created: 03/01/2022 13:53

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, Archbishop of Cologne.

© Oliver Berg/dpa/archive image

According to an internal announcement, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki will return to his office as Archbishop of Cologne on Wednesday.

After the end of his five-month sabbatical, he will then take over the management of the Archdiocese of Cologne again, announced Vicar General (head of administration) Markus Hofmann on Tuesday in a letter to all employees of the largest German diocese.

Cologne - "I am aware that many of you are viewing the current situation with great concern and are missing a concrete perspective on how things can go well," says the information available to the German Press Agency.

Hofmann, who is regarded as a loyal follower of Woelki, continues to write that he is confident that "new trust can grow".

The "Rheinische Post" reported on the letter.

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All bodies in the Archdiocese of Cologne against the return of Woelki

All bodies in the Archdiocese of Cologne against the return of Woelki

Woelki will be back on Wednesday - or not?

Pope Francis sent Woelki on a five-month hiatus in September after accusing him of “big mistakes”.

Woelki triggered a crisis of confidence 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 and the bodies of the archdiocese continued to deteriorate.

dpa