"Old, unrealistic man" Cardinal allegedly attacked good name of Pope Francis

 "Old, unrealistic man"

Cologne Cardinal Woelki allegedly attacked good name of Pope Francis

The relationship between the late Pope Francis and Cologne Cardinal Rainer Woelki was considered strained at times.

Following the death of Pope Francis, Cardinal Rainer Woelki revealed the final state of their not always unstrained relationship. Asked in the ARD and ZDF "Morgenmagazin" program whether he was at peace with Francis, the Archbishop of Cologne said: "Yes, definitely."

The Pope, who died on Easter Monday, imposed a sabbatical of several months on Woelki in 2021 due to the disputes surrounding the handling of the abuse scandal in the archdiocese and demanded that he offer his resignation, which, however, remained unanswered within the legally prescribed six-month period. Formally invalid, the document remained in a drawer up until Francis's death. However, since the Pope is supreme over the law in the Catholic Church, his Successor would have the opportunity to resurrect it at any time.

That's unlikely to happen. At least as long as the Cologne public prosecutor's investigation into suspected perjury hasn't produced any results. The personal relationship between Francis and Woelki was considered strained according to latest reports since it became known that Woelki had described the Pope as an old, out-of-touch man in a committee meeting. Woelki explained at the time that he wanted to say that the Vatican authorities did not have a realistic view of the situation on the Rhine.

The Pope to Woelki: "I'm Fully Behind You"

Woelki now reported on television that he had "seen the Pope once or twice". Francis' message was always: "Have courage, go ahead, do your work! And I am completely with you and completely behind you." There is much to suggest that this rendition is true to reality insofar as the Pope did not want to intervene in the parallelogram of forces in the German church and deprive the conservative camp of a leading figure in Woelki.

In addition, by the time of Francis, Woelki's initiatives for the renewal of faith had spread, which stood out nationwide and bore fruit with a record number of priestly ordinations.

As the Archdiocese has now announced, Woelki will likely travel to Rome in the second half of the week, following a Pontifical Requiem in the cathedral this Wednesday, to join the Cardinals' deliberations and participate in the funeral ceremonies.

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