Head of German Bishops criticises Pope for not pushing Cardinal out of Diocese

He personally believes that the Cardinal did not knowingly tell the untruth. The real problem, however, lies "in the lonely top decision that the Holy Father reserved for himself," criticizes Bishop Georg Bätzing.

The chairman of the German Bishops' Conference (DBK), Georg Bätzing, has again criticized the fact that Pope Francis has not yet decided on the resignation of the Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki. In an interview with the "Westfalenpost" (Tuesday), he appealed to the head of the church to make a decision soon.

Personally, he believes that the cardinal did not knowingly tell the untruth. The real problem, however, lies "in the lonely top decision that the Holy Father has reserved for himself, whether he accepts the resignation or not," said the DBK chairman. "Here, as in many other situations, the system of hierarchical exercise of authority simply shows its obvious limitations."

The Limburg Bishop went on to explain: "The church in the Archdiocese of Cologne and in our entire country is suffering from the situation that has not been clarified for years, it is suffering great damage." For the future, transparent procedures are needed to solve such crises.

Cathcon:  What he proposes is the politicisation of the Church.  Not a solution. 

Bätzing to the Synodal Committee: Just build a solution

Woelki has been criticized for more than two and a half years for dealing with the processing of sexual abuse. In 2021, Francis sent the cardinal on a sabbatical lasting several months, which ended in early March 2022. Since then he has been active again as Archbishop in Cologne. However, the Pope demanded a resignation from him. The head of the church has not yet decided on this.

Bätzing also expressed confidence in the continuation of the Synodal Path, despite the refusal of Woelki and three other bishops to finance the agreed Synodal committee through the Association of German Diocese (VDD). The Synodal Committee will come as a result of the reform process, and it will be adequately funded, said Bätzing. 23 of the 27 dioceses had promised that, "and we're just building a solution for how we're going to do that." It is about a phase of three years, in which considerations of the Synodal Path are to be implemented, continued and evaluated.

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