Catholic Church
“Out of touch with reality” and “old”: Cardinal Woelki irritates with statements about Pope Francis
Cardinal Woelki (left) and Pope Francis (right) in the Vatican in 2019
© Fabio Frustaci / Eidon / Picture Alliance
Actually, Cardinal Woelki should be particularly concerned about the goodwill of Pope Francis. A lot depends on that for him. It is all the more striking what he is said to have said about the Pope.
“Out of touch with reality” and “old” – that’s how the Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki is said to have described Pope Francis, according to information from his advisory committee. It depends on the “Holy Father” whether Woelki can continue to lead the Archdiocese of Cologne or not. Woelki has offered Francis his resignation and the decision is still pending.
The confidential statements about the pope are said to have been made on Saturday at a meeting of the diocesan pastoral council in Düsseldorf. Several of the approximately 60 members of the panel who were present reported to the German Press Agency that Woelki had described the pope as using the pithy words.
The pope had accused Woelki of “big mistakes”.
A spokesman for Woelki said it was not true that Woelki described the pope as “out of touch with reality”. Although Woelki used the phrase “old man” for the 85-year-old pope, this was in no way meant to be disrespectful. On the other hand, the group of participants said on Sunday that the quote about the pope was the same.
Not all members seem to have felt this as a negative. One of the participants said about Woelki: “We experienced an honest, authentic bishop.” On the contrary, Woelki had often been accused of being withdrawn and suspicious.
Pope Francis had accused Woelki of “big mistakes” last year, especially in his communication. He left him in office, but Woelki was on sabbatical from October 2021 to early March of this year. Before he said goodbye to this break, he emphasized that he had asked the Pope himself.
Cardinal Woelki has long been criticized
In the diocesan pastoral council, it sounded a little different, according to the group of participants. Here Woelki complained that the Pope and the Curia – the central government of the Catholic Church in Rome – had ordered him to take a break. The 65-year-old Woelki has been criticized almost continuously since 2020. A main point of criticism is that he had withheld an expert opinion on how diocese officials deal with allegations of abuse. Woelki had given legal reasons for this and commissioned a new report.
At the meeting in Düsseldorf, Woelki campaigned for trust and a new start in the largest German diocese. He also announced that he wanted to reform the administration. In the future, there should no longer be a theologian at the top, but an administrative expert. The previous Vicar General Markus Hofmann – Woelki’s deputy – gives up his post on July 1st. Hofmann is considered a loyal supporter of Woelkis, but was increasingly criticized together with him. On Friday, the Archdiocese announced that a routine check had revealed a contract in the Archdiocese’s foundation area that required further clarification.
The Wuppertal city dean Bruno Kurth told the dpa after the two-day meeting in Düsseldorf that the willingness to give Woelki a second chance was noticeable, but also skepticism. “I waver between the realistic perception of what I experienced on the two days and the principle of hope,” said Kurth. “With a view to our Archdiocese, I am concerned about the question: are we making progress – or is a lot of what we experienced before the break being repeated?”