Controversial churchman
Prosecutors are investigating Cardinal Woelki
In the sights of the public prosecutor: the Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki
© Rolf Vennenbernd / DPA
The scandals surrounding the Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki never end. Now the public prosecutor’s office has initiated investigations against the controversial churchman. It’s about false assurances in lieu of an oath.
Criminal investigations have been under way against Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki since Wednesday. The allegation of false insurance in lieu of an oath is being investigated, said Cologne public prosecutor Ulf Willuhn. If convicted, it carries a penalty of up to three years in prison or a fine. The trigger for the investigation was an interview with the former assistant to the HR manager in the Archdiocese of Cologne, Hildegard Dahm, published in the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger” on Wednesday.
From 2013 to 2017, Dahm worked in the Vicariate General – the central administration of the diocese. In the interview, she says that she informed Woelki early on about allegations of abuse against the former Sternsinger boss Winfried Pilz. She “couldn’t stand it any longer (…) to know things firsthand that contradict Cardinal Woelki’s public statements,” says the Catholic. So she decided to go public.
The mushroom, who died in 2019, is accused of abuse. In a press law procedure, Woelki assured that the case was only dealt with from the fourth week of June this year.
An interview with a church employee puts Woelki in distress
The mushroom, who died in 2019, is accused of abuse. In a press law procedure, Woelki assured that the case was only dealt with from the fourth week of June this year. “I will definitely not go and perjure myself as a bishop,” he told the German Press Agency.
But now Dahm says in the interview that she personally created an Excel list for Woelki in January 2015 with all the abuse cases that were current at the time. There would have been 14 names on this list, including that of Pilz. Her boss took the list to a conversation with Woelki. Afterwards she asked her boss what Woelki had said about the list. He replied: “That didn’t interest the cardinal at all.”
When the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger” pointed out that Woelki said he was only dealt with the Pilz case in June 2022, Dahm replies: “That is not true. It may be that he looked at the sheet with Pilz and the other 13 name. But I looked into it. Absolutely. That’s why I was so appalled by the cardinal’s self-portrayal to the public.”
Woelki faced several ads
This year, Woelki had already been reported several times for false insurance in lieu of an oath. However, the public prosecutor’s office had always refused to start investigations because, in their opinion, the evidence was insufficient. The interview has now changed that.
Things are getting tight for Woelki. The canon lawyer Thomas Schüller told the dpa: “I hope that the investigations will lead to a result in a timely manner and that in the end there will be an indictment – for the benefit of those affected, who have a right to know what the cardinal knew and what he did didn’t know.”
Bonn’s top Catholic, City Dean Wolfgang Picken, said that Woelki would probably be well advised to rest his official duties until the allegations were clarified in order to prevent further escalation. The investigations were difficult to reconcile with the authority of the bishopric.
Another uncomfortable appointment for Woelki next week
Next week, Wednesday, is the next potentially uncomfortable appointment for Woelki: Then the Cologne district court hears two witnesses, the former abuse officer of the archdiocese, who has since left the church, and the former secretary of Woelki’s predecessor, Joachim Meisner. It should also be about what information Woelki received at what time.
The 66-year-old Woelki, who as Archbishop of Cologne heads the largest Catholic diocese in Germany, has been under pressure for years. Among other things, his handling of allegations of abuse is criticized. Some time ago, Pope Francis had asked him to submit a request for his resignation. Woelki did that. The Pope has not yet decided whether he will accept it – instead, he says he wants to wait until the situation in the Archdiocese of Cologne has calmed down. This attitude of the “Holy Father” is seen as an absurd impertinence by both opponents and supporters of Woelkis.
Many observers believe that Francis does not want to part with Woelki above all because he is the most prominent opponent of the current reform process of German Catholics, the Synodal Way. These efforts at renewal are also followed with extreme skepticism by Francis himself.
Woelki himself has always shown his determination to only vacate his post if the Pope should recall him. It remains to be seen whether he can continue on this course under the pressure of criminal investigations.