Suspicion of perjury: investigation against Cardinal extended

Suspicion of perjury: investigation against Woelki extended

The Cologne Public Prosecutor's Office has extended the investigation against Cardinal Woelki of Cologne. It relates to the suspicion of perjury. He could have told the untruth during a court hearing.

Did Cardinal Woelki tell the truth or not during an interrogation in court where he was sworn in? That is what the investigation is about. At the centre is a 2018 letter in which the author lists several incriminating incidents involving a priest Woelki had promoted.

This letter is signed by Woelki with the words "united in Christ". The letter was sent to Rome, to the then head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Luis Ladaria.

Letter commissioned and signed

The letter contains phrases such as "I summarise" or "I ask for instruction". However, Cardinal Woelki testified in court in March that until today, i.e. the day of the interrogation, no one had told him anything about certain points contained in the letter. Moreover, he had indeed commissioned the letter, but he could not remember whether he had read it.

Investigations after criminal complaint

Cardinal Woelki has been criticised for years for his conduct in office.

The Cologne Chief Public Prosecutor Ulf Willuhn confirmed to WDR on Tuesday that he had extended the investigations against the Cardinal. The basis for this is a criminal complaint filed by a private individual. The senior public prosecutor said that there was already a preliminary investigation into the accusation of false affidavits in two cases. Now the proceedings with the third charge will be added.

Further documents incriminate Woelki

In the meantime, the WDR has received the minutes of a conference of city and district Deans from September 2022. These clearly state that Woelki was spoken to about the letter in question; and that Woelki would have reported to the dean the following day about the corresponding answer from the Vatican.

"Maria 2.0" criticises Woelki

The organisation "Maria 2.0" criticises Cardinal Woelki's behaviour. 

"For me, it is a sign of extremely questionable official conduct when a letter to the Vatican to his [Woelki's] boss is signed by him but not read."

Maria Mesrian, activist "Maria 2.0"

Mesrian demands that Cardinal Woelki suspend his official duties while the public prosecutor's office investigates. The Archdiocese of Cologne announced that it will now wait for the outcome of the prosecutor's investigation.

 "Perjury is a crime"

From a formal legal point of view, perjury is a crime if it is ultimately confirmed, according to senior public prosecutor Willuhn. Among other things, witnesses would have to be heard in order to clarify this "very, very serious accusation". So far, however, the presumption of innocence applies. Should the perjury accusation be established, the sentence would be at least one year imprisonment, according to section 154 (1) of the Criminal Code. Should a less serious case of perjury be established, a sentence of six months to five years imprisonment is possible.

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