German Bishops in Rome: Why Woelki has the Pope’s blessing

The German bishops travel to the Pope with heavy luggage. The Woelki case turns the routine visit into a crisis meeting. So far, Francis has stuck to the cardinal. What’s behind it?

When there is talk of an “elephant in the room”, then what is meant is a topic that elephant-like occupies the discussion space – without it being discussed. The German Catholic bishops are in Rome this week for talks. They meet with the leaders of the various Vatican institutions, including the Pope. And the elephant is part of the tour group.

Rainer Maria Woelki, as Archbishop of Cologne, is of course present in Rome. But the talks in the Vatican are unlikely to be about the cardinal’s future, even if the topic has kept the Catholic Church in Germany in suspense for months, years. The most important personnel question of the German church remains unspoken. The classic elephant in the room.

The cathedral choir goes on strike, members leave the church

The Cologne cardinal’s resignation has been on the Pope’s desk since March. He has not yet decided how to proceed in one of the most important dioceses of the Catholic world church. The relationship between Archbishop Woelki and the Catholics in Cologne has been permanently broken.

The majority of the volunteers, the majority of the clergy and church members no longer want to and cannot work with the archbishop. The cathedral choir doesn’t want to sing when Woelki preaches. That’s what happened in April. Acolytes turn their backs on the archbishop at a mass in Rome and members vote with their feet. Last year, more than 40,000 people left the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Cologne.

Did Woelki tell the untruth?

The Causa Woelki has intensified again in the past week. The Archbishop has gone so far as to issue an affidavit in his defense against allegations. It’s that far. It’s about the question of when he knew about alleged acts of abuse by a prominent priest.

Woelki swore under oath that he only found out about it at the end of June 2022. An employee in the archbishop’s personnel department is now publicly questioning this. She had already drawn up a corresponding list of suspected abusers in 2015 and had Woelki present it.

Did the archbishop tell the untruth? The public prosecutor’s office in Cologne is investigating. And the chorus of those who are finally demanding personal consequences is getting bigger and louder. The response that the Archdiocese of Cologne puts down on paper to this latest accusation would be sufficient reason in a “normal” diocese to question the incumbent. The employee is told from above that she doesn’t even know “whether the cardinal saw this list, another list or no list at all, but simply claims this out of the blue”.

You reserve the right to take steps under labor law, it sounds from Woelkis Wagenburg. And it is suspected “that the Archbishop of Cologne will be pilloried again before his forthcoming visit to the Holy Father in Rome”.

Pope is sticking to Woelki so far – why?

Why is Pope Francis sticking to Woelki? In Germany his name has become synonymous with the church crisis. Apparently, the Vatican is hardly aware of this dimension. On the contrary: some criticism of the cardinal is seen in Rome as typically German sophistry. For example, Woelki did not have an abuse report published, commissioned a second one and used the Advisory Board for those affected as an instrument. Pope Francis sees deficits in Woelki “above all at the level of communication”.

In the eyes of Rome, Woelki’s greatest strength is his consistent anti-attitude towards the reform process of the Catholic Church in Germany, the “Synodal Path”. No matter what is being discussed, more rights for the church base, ordained offices for women, a reassessment of homosexuality – the Archbishop of Cologne is against it. Many in the Vatican see the synodal path as a church revolt that has taken a few bishops hostage. From Rome’s perspective, a man like Woelki has the important role of intervening to slow things down and prevent the worst from happening. It’s hard to let someone like that fall.

The chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Georg Bätzing, wants to promote the synodal path at the talks in Rome. The majority of bishops, who are in favor of reforms, want to find out whether there is any leeway for German Catholics on one issue or another. Possibly with the blessing of Francis? The carelessness with which the Pope is treating the Woelki case leaves little room for such hopes.