Cardinal Woelki Offers to Resign

by CNS · March 2, 2022

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne, Germany, gestures during a news conference in Cologne in this March 23, 2021, file photo. Cardinal Woelki said he has offered his resignation to Pope Francis, who told him he should resume his ministry while awaiting the decision. (CNS photo/Oliver Berg, KNA pool)

By CNS – Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki has ended his five-month sabbatical and resumed work as archbishop of Cologne. However, the cardinal, criticised for his handling of sex abuse cases in the archdiocese, says he has submitted his resignation to Pope Francis, reports the German Catholic news agency KNA.

In a statement published March 2, Cardinal Woelki said Pope Francis would decide on this “in due course” and had ordered him to resume his ministry.

Meanwhile, in front of Cologne’s world-famous cathedral, the Maria 2.0 reform initiative held a rally opposing Cardinal Woelki’s return, KNA reported.

For months, the largest diocese in the German-speaking world has been shaken by a crisis of trust and a wave of people quitting the church as a result of how sexual abuse issues have been handled. Following an independent investigation, Pope Francis granted Cardinal Woelki a leave of absence, beginning last October. The pope said the archbishop had made “big mistakes” above all in his communications, but had not tried to cover up issues of abuse.

On March 1, the interim head of the archdiocese, Auxiliary Bishop Rolf Steinhäuser, issued a video message saying the problems in the archdiocese had not been solved during Cardinal Woelki’s absence.

“The archbishop and the Christians in the archdiocese are not lying in each other’s arms, confessing their guilt and celebrating reconciliation,” Bishop Steinhäuser said. Many rifts seemed even deeper than before, he said.

Bishop Steinhäuser will represent Cardinal Woelki at the traditional ecumenical Lenten prayer service in Düsseldorf March 5.

During Cardinal Woelki’s leave of absence, Bishop Steinhäuser revealed that the archdiocese spent 2.8 million euros ($3.1 million) on lawyers and public relations consultants in the course of the abuse inquiry, but only 1.5 million euros on victims. Bishop Steinhäuser asked church lawyers to look into accusations that important committees were bypassed in the awarding of contracts. The Vatican has been informed of their findings, which have not yet been published.