For the time being, Pope Francis does not want to decide on the resignation offer from Cologne Archbishop Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki.
There are many groups "that put pressure on, but under pressure it is not possible to differentiate," he said in an interview with the Jesuit Order's European magazines published on Tuesday.
"I'll wait until there's no more pressure to make a difference."
It is "okay" that there are different points of view.
"The problem is when there is pressure."
Thomas Jansen
Editor in Politics.
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After his return from the five-month "spiritual break" ordered by the Pope, Cardinal Woelki announced in early March that he had offered the Pope his resignation.
In his pastoral letter for Lent, he described his offer of resignation as an expression of an “attitude of inner freedom”, so that the pope would also be free to decide for the good of the archdiocese.
Francis said: "When he came back, I asked him to write a letter of resignation.
He did this and gave it to me".
At the time, he left Woelki in his place "to see what would happen," the pope said.
"But I have his resignation letter in hand."
Francis let the three-month period that canon law stipulates for accepting a resignation elapse.
At the same time, the pope announced that he was considering a "financial visitation" to the archdiocese.
There is an "economic problem," said Francis.
Cologne's financial behavior has been in focus for some time.
Most recently, the Vatican had examined the financing of the two abuse reports and the associated legal PR advice and declared them legal.
There are many indications that the Pope's statement was alluding to the financing of the Cologne University of Catholic Theology, which had also fallen into disrepute.