German bishops’ leader prods Pope to accept cardinal’s resignation
March 08, 2022
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CWN Editor's Note: The president of the German bishops’ conference has said that Pope Francis should act quickly to resolve the status of Cologne’s Cardinal Rainier Woelki, who has offered his resignation.
Bishop Georg Bätzing said that Cardinal Woelki sent a “strong signal” with his offer to resign, and now the Pope must “bear responsibility for this situation.”
Cardinal Woelki offered to step down last year, because of heavy public criticism of his handling of sex-abuse cases. Instead the Pope asked him to continue after a leave of absence that began in September. When the cardinal returned to active ministry last month, he promptly offered his resignation again.
A review of sex-abuse policies in the Cologne archdiocese cleared Cardinal Woelki of cover-up charges, while questioning some of his policy decisions. But the embattled cardinal has had little support from other German bishops. He has apparently become unpopular with his colleagues because of his criticism of the “Synodal Path.”
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