Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki from Cologne is returning from his break – and at the same time offers the Pope his resignation.
Cologne – The controversial Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki has, in his own words, offered the Pope his resignation as Archbishop of Cologne. The Archdiocese of Cologne announced on Wednesday (March 2nd, 2022) that the Pope will decide on this in due course. First of all, the Pope instructed Woelki to resume his service as Archbishop of Cologne as planned on Wednesday.
“Over and over again in the past few months – praying and working – I have reflected and meditated on my actions and the situation in our archdiocese,” explained Woelki in a letter to the faithful published at the same time on Ash Wednesday. Regarding his offered resignation, the Pope is free to decide “what serves the good of the Church of Cologne the most”. In the meantime, Woelki asked the faithful to be patient and to “give him another chance”.
Cardinal Woelki offers Pope resignation as Archbishop of Cologne
In 2020, Woelki triggered a crisis of confidence in the Archdiocese of Cologne. The reason was originally his refusal to publish a report he had commissioned himself on dealing with allegations of abuse by diocese officials. He cited legal reasons for doing so. After that, the relationship between Woelki and the bodies of the Archdiocese continued to deteriorate. Pope Francis sent Woelki on a five-month hiatus in September after accusing him of “big mistakes”.
During his absence, hope was raised that the cardinal might not return and that the situation would ease. (dpa / AFP)
