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Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki has been criticised for his
handling of historic child sex abuse allegations, in particular
for his decision to shelve a report into earlier wrongdoings by
priests because of unspecified methodological shortcomings.
An 800-page follow-up report into the handling of abuse cases in
the Cologne archdiocese between 1975 and 2018 found more than
200 abusers and more than 300 victims mostly under the age of
14.
"Pope Francis has ordered an Apostolic Visitation to the
Archdiocese of Cologne," Nikola Eterovic, the Papal Nuncio to
Germany, said in a statement.
"The Holy See's delegates will form a comprehensive picture of
the complex pastoral situation in the Archbishopric and consider
any possible failings by Cardinal Woelki and his excellency
Stefan Hesse, Archbishop of Hamburg," he added.
Cologne, by some measures the world's richest diocese - with a
bigger income than the Vatican itself - is at the centre of a
crisis in the German Catholic Church, with thousands quitting
the Church in protest at its handling of abuse cases and at its
refusal to bless same-sex relationships.
Woelki welcomed the decision to send the inspectors - Anders
Cardinal Arborelius, the Bishop of Stockholm, and Johannes van
der Hende, Bishop of Rotterdam.
"I am glad that the Pope wants to form his own picture of our
independent inquiry and its consequences," Woelki said in a
statement. "I will support Cardinal Arborelius and Bishop van
den Hende in their work."
Centred on the renowned Cologne Cathedral, the tallest twin-spired
church in the world, the Rhineland diocese is home to Germany's
largest community of Roman Catholics.
(Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
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