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Cologne (dpa) - In the Archdiocese of Cologne, the crisis of confidence around Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki is worsening.
On Friday the diocesan council, representing the lay representatives, openly opposed the archbishop.
"It is almost unbelievable how the management of the archdiocese behaves", criticized Tim Kurzbach, the chairman of the diocesan council and mayor of Solingen (SPD).
«We are in the greatest church crisis we have all ever experienced.
The Archbishop of Cologne failed as a moral authority and has shown no attitude to this day. "
Woelki has been criticized for months for withholding an expert report commissioned by himself on the responsibility of high-ranking church officials in prosecuting cases of sexual abuse.
He justifies this with legal concerns.
The diocesan council asked Woelki to accept the offer of the law firm Wespfahl Spilker Wastl to publish the report it had prepared on its website at its sole responsibility.
As a consequence of Woelki's behavior, the Diocesan Council is suspending its work on the so-called Pastoral Future Path, a program initiated by Woelki to reorganize the parishes in the Archdiocese.
In addition, the lay representatives demanded the "immediate assumption of personal responsibility".
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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210129-99-221595 / 2
Opinion of the Diocesan Council