Cologne's Bishop Rainer Maria Woelki has therefore apologized.
At the end of the Christmas mass.
The fact that a cardinal and head of the German diocese with the largest number of members takes this step at Christmas is not an expression of humility.
It shows the pressure the church is under.
The cardinal got tangled up in dealing with sexual violence. He has refused to publish a completed abuse study. The foundation of trust in the Rhenish church province with its eight million Catholics was already damaged. Now it is downright pulverized.