GERMANY
Catholic News Service via National Catholic Reporter
February 3, 2021
The Archdiocese of Cologne, which has the largest membership in the German-speaking world with almost 2 million Catholics, is sliding into a crisis of confidence.
The German Catholic news agency KNA reports that parish councils, priests and most recently the diocesan council have criticized Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki for his handling of an abuse investigation, and the ferocity of their criticism is unusual.
Tim Kurzbach, archdiocesan council chairman, said in late January that Woelki had “failed as a moral authority” and was not confronting the problem. In protest, the council, made up of elected representatives of Catholic laypeople, said it was suspending its cooperation on diocesan reforms.
It was a rare step, and it was taken despite the cardinal’s pledge to conduct a rigorous investigation.
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