Woelki allegedly knew nothing
Woelki also emphasizes that he did not see a 2015 compilation of documents about the priest. The former abuse officer of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Oliver Vogt, reported this as a witness.
Nobody spoke to him about the police warning until 2017, otherwise he would have remembered it and not promoted this priest. Only later did he find out that his predecessor, Cardinal Joachim Meisner, had sanctioned the clergyman for the incident with the prostitute.
Woelki: The priest did a good job
Woelki reports that he heard about the rumors during a consultation at the personnel conference. In order to clarify them, the promotion had been adjourned. After the rumors were not confirmed as such, he agreed to the promotion. His future superior, Auxiliary Bishop Dominikus Schwaderlapp, and the head of the church court at the time, Günter Assenmacher, had campaigned for this.
The leading employees in the human resources department had expressed themselves critically. The incident with the prostitute from 2001 was a long time ago and the priest did a good job, according to Woelki. “You have to be able to forgive and get a point.” In the meantime, there is a canonical judgment that the rumors have nothing to do with it. The public prosecutor’s office also stopped all investigations against the priest.
Prosecutors sat in the audience
A prosecutor is also in the audience. Because criminal investigations have been underway against Woelki since November 2022. The allegation of false affidavit is being investigated. It is about the question of when Woelki knew about allegations of abuse against the former Sternsinger boss Winfried Pilz. Woelki has also rejected all allegations in this case.
A decision in the process is expected to be announced on April 26th.
Woelki’s future still uncertain
Woelki has long been criticized for cover-up allegations in connection with the Catholic Church’s abuse scandal. The Pope has not yet decided on a resignation request that Woelki sent to the Vatican last year.
In November 2022, the chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Georg Bätzing, made it clear to Pope Francis that the situation “unbearable” and the pressure in Germany “can’t stand it anymore” may be.