Rainer Maria Woelki

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Rainer Maria Woelki
Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki, Archbishop of Cologne (2019) .jpg
Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki, 2019
Coat of arms of Rainer Maria Woelki (Cologne) .svg
Coat of arms as Archbishop of Cologne


Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki (born August 18, 1956 in Cologne-Mülheim ) is a German theologian , cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and since 2014 Archbishop of Cologne and Metropolitan of the associated ecclesiastical province .

Since 2012 he has been Cardinal Priest of San Giovanni Maria Vianney .

Life

Career

Woelki's parents were East Prussian expellees , born in Frauenburg in Warmia , who fled to West Germany in 1945. Rainer Maria Woelki grew up in the Brother Klaus settlement in Cologne 's Mülheim district , where he worked as an altar boy and youth group leader and celebrated his first birthday in 1985 . After graduating from the Municipal Hölderlin-Gymnasium in Cologne-Mülheim 1977 he did his military service in the Armored Artillery instructive battalion 95 in Munster (Örtze) and then studied from 1978 to 1983 Catholic theology andPhilosophy at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn and at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg among others with Karl Lehmann , the later cardinal and bishop of Mainz. In 1979 he was one of the re-founders of the Aktivitas of the student union of Catholic theologians St.VkTh in Bonn. Rhenofrankonia Bonn.

2000 Rainer Woelki at was the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome a dissertation on the subject of the parish - a contribution to their ecclesiological location determination for a doctor of theology doctorate .

Priestly work

Woelki was an intern in 1983 and a deacon in 1984 in the parish of St. Katharina in Gerresheim in the east of Düsseldorf . He received on 14 June 1985 by Archbishop Joseph Cardinal Hoffner in Cologne Cathedral , the ordination . After pastoral work as chaplain at St. Marien in Neuss , President of the Kolping Family Neuss-Zentral, military pastor in Münster-Handorf and chaplain at St. Joseph in Ratingen , he became archbishop chaplain and secretary of 1990Joachim Cardinal Meisner . From 1997 to 2003 Rainer Woelki was director of the Theologenkonviktes Collegium Albertinum in Bonn. Pope John Paul II awarded him the papal honorary title of chaplain of His Holiness ( monsignor ) on November 21, 1999 .

Auxiliary Bishop in Cologne

Pope John Paul II appointed Woelki on February 24, 2003 titular bishop of Scampa and auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Cologne. Joachim Cardinal Meisner donated him the episcopal ordination on March 30, 2003 in Cologne Cathedral ; Co-consecrators were his predecessor Auxiliary Bishop Klaus Dick and the then Cologne Auxiliary Bishop Norbert Trelle .

His episcopal coat of arms at that time was divided into two parts. It showed a standing (divided) cross on a silver background, the coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Cologne. Below was the attribute of the Swiss Saint Klaus von der Flüe ( patronage of the home parish in Cologne-Mülheim), a wheel consisting of two concentric silver rings, from the center of which six golden nails grow. Behind the coat of arms the cross, above the green galero with six green tassels each. In the scroll the motto of Bishop Woelkis Nos sumus testes (“We are witnesses”); this comes from the Acts of the Apostles ( Acts 5:32  EU).

Joachim Cardinal Meisner appointed auxiliary bishop Woelki as episcopal vicar for questions of doctrine of the faith and ecumenism and commissioned him with the pastoral district of the east of the archdiocese. In 2003 he was elected resident cathedral chapter . Since January 1, 2005 Woelki has been Episcopal Vicar for the permanent diaconate and since January 1, 2006 for the pastoral district north with the cities of Düsseldorf and Wuppertal .

Archbishop of Berlin

Coat of arms of Cardinal Woelkis as Archbishop of Berlin

Woelki was introduced to the office of Archbishop of Berlin on August 27, 2011 in St. Hedwig's Cathedral . Pope Benedict XVI had confirmed Woelki's election by the Berlin Metropolitan Chapter on July 2, 2011 and appointed him Archbishop of Berlin. On August 16, 2011 Woelki was the first archbishop to take the oath of allegiance required by the Reich Concordat of July 20, 1933, before the Berlin Senate .

His official coat of arms connects the coats of arms of the pre-Reformation dioceses of Brandenburg , Havelberg , Cammin and Lebus , on the basis of which the Archdiocese of Berlin was established, with a fifth field in the base of the shield, which shows a blue wheel with six red wedges as spokes on a gold background, which alternate after directed outside or inside: the meditation image of St. Niklaus von Flüe , the patron of the home parish Cardinal Woelkis in Cologne-Mülheim. Behind the coat of arms are the attributes of an archbishop with cardinal rank, a double cross and a galero with 15 tassels.

The appointment led to public speculation about possible positions and attitudes Woelkis. Due to his doctorate at the Opus Dei- led Pontifical University of the Holy Cross and a sermon to Josemaría Escrivá at a ceremony of Opus Dei in 2008 in the St. Pantaleon Church in Cologne , he was assumed to have a personal connection with, and rumored to be, membership in this personal prelature . Woelki stated in his reactions that he was not a member of this organization: "I have always been a diocesan priest and do not belong to Opus Dei or to any other ecclesiastical community."

As auxiliary bishop in Cologne, Bishop Woelki, in a personal interview with Georg Schwikart , a candidate for the permanent diaconate at the time , described homosexuality as a violation of the "order of creation". Woelki's appointment as Berlin Archbishop therefore aroused criticism from the working group “ Lesbians and Gays in the SPD ” and from Berlin Bundestag members from the CDU, Greens and SPD. In a press conference after his appointment, Woelki stated that he would “treat everyone in his new place of work with respect and esteem” and would also accept offers from the lesbian and gay association. The conversation took place on September 16, 2011.

In the solemn consistory of February 18, 2012, Benedict XVI took him. as a cardinal priest with the titular church of San Giovanni Maria Vianney in the college of cardinals . On June 29, 2012 Rainer Maria Woelki was born by Benedict XVI. awarded the pallium in St. Peter's Basilica , an official badge of the Metropolitans . He formally took possession of his titular church on June 30, 2012. After Benedict's resignation on February 28, 2013, Cardinal Woelki took part in the 2013 conclave .

Press conference on the appointment of Cardinal Woelki as Archbishop of Cologne on July 12, 2014. Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki, Diocesan Administrator Stefan Heße (left) and Provost Norbert Feldhoff

On September 7, 2014, Cardinal Woelki was adopted as Archbishop of Berlin in a pontifical office .

Woelki set various signs of change: he consciously took up residence in the working-class district of Wedding , sought help for refugees and appointed numerous women to leading positions, such as Ulrike Kostka for the first time as a woman director of the Diocesan Caritas Association. He initiated a far-reaching structural reform in the Archdiocese of Berlin entitled “Where Faith Gains Space”, the aim of which is to reduce the number of legally independent parishes to 30 by 2020. The redesign of the interior and the surroundings of St. Hedwig's Cathedral was already carried out by its predecessorenvisaged in Berlin. It started in November 2013 with the invitation to tender for an architects' competition.

Archbishop of Cologne

Rainer Maria Woelki (2014)
The retired Archbishop of Cologne, Joachim Cardinal Meisner, hands over the St. Peter rod to his successor, Rainer Cardinal Woelki
State oath of loyalty in the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia
Certification of the oath of loyalty with NRW Prime Minister Hannelore Kraft and the head of the State Chancellery of Rhineland-Palatinate Jacqueline Kraege (September 18, 2014)

On July 11, 2014 Woelki was appointed Archbishop of Cologne by Pope Francis . He is the 95th bishop of this diocese. The inauguration took place on September 20, 2014 as part of a pontifical office in Cologne Cathedral. As a gift to Cardinal Woelki, a motet by the Düsseldorf church musician Klaus Wallrath was premiered on the Archbishop's motto Nos sumus testes .

His new official coat of arms consists of a two-part shield. A golden double cross above the shield . On the left side of the shield it shows the black cross of the Archdiocese of Cologne, on the right part of the shield the meditation wheel of Nikolaus von Flüe . Brother Klaus was the patron of his home parish in the Brother Klaus settlement in Cologne-Mülheim. Under the coat of arms the pallium and the tape with his motto.

Dealing with sexual violence against children

Expert opinion on sexual violence

In 2018 Woelki gave a Munich law firm an expert opinion on sexual violence committed against children by perpetrators who were employed by the diocese. The report should also deal in particular with the handling of individual responsible persons in the Archdiocese of Cologne with the deeds. After the commissioning, Woelki stated that one of the goals should also be to name the names of previous persons in charge who might have made mistakes.

On October 30, 2020, Woelki informed the press that he would not publish the report because it had significant methodological deficiencies. The Munich-based law firm Westpfahl Spilker und Wastl rejected Woelki's allegations and would like to publish the report so that the public and the victims can examine the facts. A report by the same law firm on the investigation of sexual violence in the diocese of Aachen was published in November 2020. The report in Cologne, however, is particularly explosive, since at that time responsible leading employees continued to hold high offices in the Catholic Church, in particular the Bishops Stefan Heße and Dominikus Schwaderlapp .

Woelki stated that by March 18, 2021 he would publish a complete new version of the investigation, which he had commissioned from another law firm. On November 28, 2020, Cardinal Woelki announced that he wanted to make the report available to individuals at a later date.

At the same time, an individual report commissioned by Woelki from the Munich law firm Westpfahl Spilker und Wastl on priest Nikolaus A. had been publicly available for a few days on the pages of the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger , in which significant deficiencies in the way the diocese was dealt with were documented.

The Affected Advisory Board had agreed to the non-publication. Some members later stated that pressure had been exerted on them and they had been instrumentalized: "We should deliver the certificate: approved by the advisory board." Several members withdrew from the body in protest. One member spoke of "deliberate misleading" by the archdiocese as essential information was not made available prior to meetings. The Diocesan Council of Catholics in the Archdiocese of Cologne expressed doubts on the basis of the events "whether such a metanoia, conversion and such a new beginning in favor of enlightenment, law and justice is possible from the system of the ruling diocese leadership on its own." The Central Committee of German Catholicsdecided on a declaration on October 20, 2020, which reads: “We are currently witnesses to non-transparent processes in the Archdiocese of Cologne. We demand that this be disclosed in full and, in particular, that the results of the report by the law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl be made accessible. ”The Society of Catholic Publicists in Germany also requested publication. The independent commissioner for questions of child sexual abuse , Johannes-Wilhelm Rörig, said that he had previously assumed a strong will to come to terms with Woelki. But now there are many indications that “Cardinal Woelki could have made a massive mistake with regard to the participation of those affected, transparency and independence from dealing with the matter”. The accusation of cover-up is in the room. The Munich Archbishop Reinhard Marx sharply criticized Woelki's reluctance to give an opinion and called the process in December 2020 “devastating for us all”.

Behavior in the case of priest O.

According to the journalist Raoul Löbbert, an article in the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger suggests that Woelki himself hushed up a case of sexual violence against children. The priest Johannes O. (died 2017) had been known to the archdiocese for a long time as the perpetrator. Woelki had known the man personally for a long time. Cardinal Meisner would already be under canon lawwas obliged to report the case to the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, but he did not. After taking office as Archbishop, Woelki reportedly had O's personal file presented to him. He then also failed to report the case to Rome. In December 2020, the alleged abuse victim contradicted Woelki's statement that she did not want to participate in the investigation, and stated: "I reported on the crime in detail and asked to be left out as far as possible."

Conduct in the case of Father F.

In 2020, the Bild-Zeitung dealt with Woelki's behavior in the case of Priest F. In 1986 altar boys complained about touching the Cologne priest. In 1990 he was found masturbating with boys in a bush. The following year he was charged with sexually abusing children under the age of 14. In the following years he took in a mother with several sons and exercised sexual violence on the children. This became known in 1997. The archbishopric had an immoral " gag agreement " with the mother“Concluded, which she should commit to silence. 30,000 marks were paid to the mother. In 2000 the priest was put into temporary retirement and in 2004 into final retirement. But also in 2010 there were again complaints against the retired priest. In 2018 Woelki banned him from serving as a priest. Only after new allegations were made in March 2019, Woelki initiated a canonical preliminary investigation and handed the case over to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome.

Withdrawal requests

In connection with the allegations, Woelki has been suggested by various sides to resign since November 2020, for example by the Cologne Diocesan Association of the Federation of German Catholic Youth (BDKJ) and the Diocesan Council of Catholics in the Archdiocese of Cologne , which demanded an immediate transparent clarification on November 13, 2020 had and declared: “There must be personal consequences for perpetrators and cover-ups! ... We would like a promise from Archbishop Rainer Cardinal Woelki and the diocese leadership ... that individual responsibility will be taken on. "In December, the Catholic Women's Community of Germany (kfd), the victims' association" Eckiger Tisch "and the Muenster canon lawyer Thomas Schüller demandedthe resignation of the archbishop. Woelki stated on December 10, 2020 that he had turned to the Pope and asked "to check whether he had committed a breach of duty under canon law". He is ready to take on moral responsibility: "If I have made mistakes in a specific case, they will be clearly stated and I will act accordingly."

Synodal way

Woelki is critical of the specific design of the “ Synodal Way ” of the Catholic Church in Germany. The Synodal Way carries the great risk of "primarily, almost exclusively, focusing on structural changes and finally tackling them". Even the impression that the church reform process is a quasi-parliamentary vote on faith must be stopped. The unchangeable church teaching should not be made available. In particular, Woelki neglects the importance of evangelization, which was also called for by Pope Francis . Therefore Woelki voted against the statute of the synodal way.

As a result of the letter from Pope Francis, Cardinal Woelki and Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer from the Diocese of Regensburg brought an alternative draft statute into the discussion on August 19, 2019. It was discussed in detail and rejected by 21 votes to 3 (with 3 abstentions). The alternative draft had seven (instead of four) thematic priorities, namely: sexual abuse, sending the laity to the service of evangelization , youth catechesis, marriage and family pastoral care, vocational pastoral care , theology and religious instruction in the service of evangelization, and spirituality and evangelization.

The President of the ZdK , Thomas Sternberg , rejected Woelki's criticism of the Synodal Way. The Catholic Church must ask itself basic questions about its own structure: “Do you want synodality, as the Pope always demands, or do you want an old model of church organization from the 19th century?” Asked the ZdK President.

The chairman of the Cologne Diocesan Council , Tim Kurzbach , criticized Cardinal Woelki's resistance to the Synodal Way. "I fear that he is destroying the authority of his episcopal office by not trying to convince the congregation with good arguments." At the same time, he should "have long since recognized that office alone no longer establishes true authority". The "fearless discussions" of the Synodal Path would have "demystified the apparent power of a Cologne cardinal," says Kurzbach. Woelki was also only one voice among the many baptized. "The fear of an episcopal power that is not based on wise reasoning and wise action" will "also pass in Cologne".

Corona crisis

In the corona crisis in spring 2020, Woelki opened the seminary in downtown Cologne for the city's homeless . Even against concerns in his own archbishopric, the archbishop and young helpers served over 100 meals a day. At his instigation, the Catholic clinics in the Archdiocese of Cologne also admitted four patients from the particularly affected northern Italy for medical treatment. In a letter to the medical staff, he praised their commitment to the sick as "outstanding".

Conflict with the Catholic university community in Cologne

In November 2020 the position paper “We want to remain credible” of the Catholic University Community in Cologne (KHG) was removed from the KHG website against the will of those responsible and authors, which was blocked for several days. The website is now accessible again - without the criticized position paper. The Evangelical Student Community in Cologne declared its solidarity with the KHG and published it. After the Archdiocese had threatened to take legal action against those responsible for the KHG, employees spoke of censorship and demanded that “a church of fear must finally be over”.

Positions

refugees

Cardinal Woelki reacted to the increasing number of refugees shortly after taking office as Archbishop of Cologne. In November 2014 he initiated the “New Neighbors Campaign”, which was intended to strengthen a welcoming culture for refugees in the Archdiocese of Cologne and to coordinate and support refugee aid in the parishes. Financial support and newly hired full-time integration officers promote the integration of refugees to this day.

Woelki attracted nationwide attention on June 19, 2015 with 23,000 chimes - a sound for every boat refugee who has drowned in the Mediterranean since 2000 up to this point. The solidarity action should be a reminder to politics and society to help refugees.

In September 2016 Woelki criticized the demand made by the chairman of the CSU , Horst Seehofer , for an upper limit for refugees and a preference for immigrants from the Christian-Occidental culture: If the CSU took the Basic Law seriously, it could not ask for an upper limit, it wouldn't Right of asylum not applicable.

Other religions

On April 24, 2016, Cardinal Woelki turned on Cologne Cathedral Radio against the statement by AfD politician Beatrix von Storch that Islam was “a political ideology that is incompatible with our Basic Law”. Woelki pointed to the religious freedom protected by the Basic Lawand declared: "One of the great world religions is being pilloried here with hateful intent." Anyone who denigrates Muslims should realize that prayer houses and mosques are just as protected by the Basic Law as churches and chapels. Islam is compatible with the Basic Law, as is Christianity and Judaism. People in Germany should never again be ostracized or persecuted because of their race, their origin or their religion.

Evangelization

In 2017 Woelki was the first to sign the Mission Manifesto initiative .

Housing market

In his Christmas sermon 2017 Woelki addressed the precarious situation on the housing market and criticized the fact that “apartments have not seldom turned into income-only properties”; this is cynical if more and more people cannot afford to live as a result.

Communion reception by spouses of different denominations

On March 22, 2018, seven German bishops, led by Cardinal Rainer Woelki, wrote a letter to Cardinals Kurt Koch and Luis Ladaria, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, with a request to clarify some questions about receiving Communion by spouses of different denominations. A request was made to the President of the Council for Christian Unity to clarify whether the question of receiving communion for spouses of different denominations could be decided within the framework of a national bishops' conference or whether a decision by the universal Church was necessary. In June Luis Cardinal Ladaria wrote to the German bishops, quoting Pope Francis, who had described a prepared handout from the German bishops as "not ready for publication" because the document raised a number of unsolved problems of considerable importance. Cardinal Woelki turned against aspirations,

On July 26, 2018, however, Pope Francis said that Cardinal Ladaria's letter was “not an ecumenical brake”. The planned handout was even more restrictive than provided by canon law and in no way wanted to open communion to everyone. He [Francis] believes there will be “a document for orientation so that every bishop in his diocese can regulate what canon law already allows”.

Public response

The unexpected appointment of Woelki as Archbishop of Cologne in 2014 met with an extremely positive response from the public. The successor of Cardinal Meisner, who was controversial until the end, was a Rhinelander and even came from Cologne. His first decisions heralded a new era of openness and collaboration.

With its conservative profile, however, it received increasing criticism in the traditionally liberal Rhenish Catholicism. This applies not only to his downright traditional positions on the ordination of women and homosexuality, but also to his attempts to discredit or suppress internal church discussions. In view of the discussion on the ordination of women in the Catholic Church, which also takes place in the context of the Synodal Way , Woelki irritated with his statement that the question of the ordination of women is not open and that the discussion about it therefore takes place outside the teaching of the church.

Offices

German Bishops' Conference

  • Member of the "Permanent Council" of the German Bishops' Conference
  • Chairman of the Commission for Science and Culture.
  • Deputy Chairman of Commission IV "Commission for Spiritual Professions and Church Services"
  • Member of the Joint Conference of the German Bishops' Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics

Roman Curia

Cardinal Woelki is a member of the following organizations of the Roman Curia :

Other offices

honors and awards

Web links

Commons : Rainer Maria Woelki  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ingo Brüggenjürgen: “I'm looking forward to Berlin!” Cologne's auxiliary bishop Woelki becomes the new bishop of the capital ; Domradio July 2nd, 2011.
  2. ↑ gloria.tv: The new Berlin archbishop once wanted to be a “normal pastor”
  3. ^ D: Rainer Maria Woelki new Archbishop of Berlin vaticanhistory.de
  4. ↑ Christoph Biskupek: The new founding of Activitas on November 7 , 1979 ; Article on the Rhenofrankonia homepage.
  5. ^ Auxiliary Bishop Woelki from Cologne becomes Archbishop of Berlin . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , July 2, 2011. Accessed March 4, 2015.
  6. ↑ Woelki's roots in Düsseldorf. Rheinische Post, accessed on February 26, 2012 .
  7. ↑ derwesten.de: New Cologne Archbishop Woelki was an intern in Düsseldorf , July 12, 2014
  8. ↑ Dr. Rainer Maria Woelki - Auxiliary Bishop. Archdiocese of Cologne, archived from the original on February 22, 2012 ; Retrieved July 4, 2011 .
  9. ↑ As of July 1, 2011, renamed “Episcopal Vicar for the Formation of Permanent Deacons” (Official Gazette of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Volume 151, August 1, 2011, Item 9 No. 124).
  10. ^ Nomina dell'Arcivescovo Metropolita di Berlin (Germania) ; in: Holy See Press Office: Daily Bulletin of July 2, 2011.
  11. ↑ There are probing questions waiting for Woelki in Berlin , in: Berliner Morgenpost of July 3, 2011.
  12. ↑ Markus Huth : After the Reich Concordat of 1933: New Archbishop Woelki is the first Archbishop to take oath of allegiance in the Red City Hall , in: Potsdamer Latest News from August 15, 2011.
  13. ↑ The Cardinal's Envoy , Fiona Ehlers et al. in DER SPIEGEL
  14. ↑ There are probing questions waiting for Woelki in Berlin
  15. ↑ The Berlin Problem Bishop in Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger online from July 4, 2011, accessed on December 4, 2017.
  16. ↑ Woelki's doctorate at the Pontificia Universitá della Santa Croce, Rome
  17. ↑ Woelki: I'm not a member of Opus Dei in Der Tagesspiegel from July 4, 2011.
  18. ↑ Peter Wensierski: God's watchdog . In: Der Spiegel . No. 14 , 2011, p. 40-41 ( online - 4 April 2011 ).
  19. ↑ a b “A certain group that stirs up conflict issues” , www.domradio.de, September 21, 2011, accessed on October 6, 2011.
  20. ↑ New archbishop because of gay comments in the criticism in Die Zeit , July 4, 2011.
  21. ↑ Woelki wants to talk to gays and lesbians. RP-online, July 5, 2011, accessed August 28, 2018 .
  22. ↑ Cardinal Woelki takes possession of the titular church of San Giovanni Maria Vianney
  23. ↑ Cardinal Woelki in Rome: Presentation of the pallium - taking possession of the title church. , accessed June 15, 2012.
  24. ↑ "I have grown dear to you" - Farewell to Cardinal Woelki in the Archdiocese of Berlin
  25. ↑ Daniel Deckers : The supposed hardliner from the Rhineland. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, September 19, 2014, p. 3.
  26. ↑ caritas.de "farewell and a new beginning," Social Courage edition Berlin, February, 2012 , accessed on September 24, 2014.
  27. ↑ Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki: Where Faith Gains Space (PDF file; 207 kB), pastoral letter on pastoral redesign, December 2, 2012, accessed online on September 19, 2014
  28. ↑ “It is time.” Provost Rother on the renovation of Sankt Hedwig. In: Catholic Sunday newspaper Archdiocese of Berlin. Our Archdiocese. 119th vol., No. 44, 2nd / 3rd year November 2013, p. I.
  29. ↑ domradio.de , accessed on September 20, 2014.
  30. ↑ Aachener Zeitung, Violent dispute about the opinion withheld by Woelki , November 2, 2020
  31. ↑ Der Tagesspiegel, The Entanglement of the Archdiocese of Cologne , November 21, 2020
  32. ↑ "Super Gau for Archdiocese of Cologne" Woelki keeps abuse reports secret. ntv.de October 30, 2020.
  33. ^ Westpfahl Spilker Wastl Attorneys at Law, Expert Opinion: Sexual Abuse of Minors and Adult Wards by Clerics in the Area of ​​the Diocese of Aachen from 1965 to 2019
  34. ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung, Serious allegations against former officials in the diocese of Aachen , November 12, 2020
  35. ↑ Die Zeit, Dominikus Schwaderlapp and Stefan Heße: partially ready to be informed , on October 14, 2020
  36. ↑ "Major Defects". Cardinal Woelki does not want to publish abuse reports. Kölnische Rundschau , October 30, 2020.
  37. ↑ https://www1.wdr.de/nachrichten/rheinland/woelki-gutachten-missrauch-100.html receipt notification
  38. ↑ https://www.ksta.de/blob/37664430/84119fafcf15f95324421c6064f1459a/gutachten-kirche-iester-a-data.pdf
  39. ↑ Kölnische Rundschau, Archbishop Woelki of Cologne announces a systematic review , November 19, 2020
  40. ↑ Süddeutsche The findings must be toxic. Süddeutsche Zeitung, November 18, 2020
  41. ↑ Abuse in the Archdiocese of Cologne: Instrumentalized Victims? Monitor, November 12, 2020
  42. ↑ Abuse report incriminates Cardinals Meisner and Höffner. kathisch.de, November 18, 2020
  43. ↑ dioezesanrat.de: The truth must now be on the table , November 13, 2020.
  44. ↑ zdk.de: Recognize the causes - take responsibility - draw the consequences Declaration of the General Assembly of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) , November 20, 2020 [1]
  45. ^ Society of Catholic Publishers in Germany , "To pose the truth" - GKP for dealing with sexual abuse
  46. ↑ Der Tagesspiegel, Abuse Commissioner sharply criticizes Cardinal Woelki from Cologne , November 23, 2020
  47. ↑ Cardinal Marx criticizes the handling of abuse reports , Süddeutsche Zeitung, December 15, 2020.
  48. ↑ Raoul Löbbert: Abuse in the Church: The Guilt of the Cardinal. In: Zeit Online . December 10, 2020, accessed December 16, 2020 .
  49. ↑ a b Allegations of cover-up: Victim of abuse contradicts Cardinal Woelki. In: kathisch.de. December 16, 2020, accessed December 16, 2020 .
  50. ^ Rheinische Post, Another case of abuse in the Archdiocese of Cologne confirmed , December 9, 2020
  51. ↑ Cardinal Woelki comments on cover-up allegations: "Investigation leaves no one out". Domradio , December 10, 2020. Accessed December 13, 2020
  52. ↑ neueruhrwort.de: BDKJ calls for the resignation of Cardinal Woelki , November 12, 2020
  53. ↑ dioezesanrat.de: The truth must now be on the table , November 13, 2020.
  54. ↑ Daily Mail: Demands for resignation: Woelki turned to the Pope, December 10th, 2020.
  55. ↑ welt.de: The Cardinal and the Loyalty Trap , December 13, 2020
  56. ↑ Cardinal Woelki renews doubts about the “Synodal Way”. The daily mail, November 7, 2019, accessed on January 22, 2020 .
  57. ↑ Cardinal Woelki also voted against the statutes of the “synodal way”. In: kathisch.de. September 26, 2019, accessed January 22, 2020 .
  58. ↑ Draft / July 26, 2019: Synodal path towards the “primacy of evangelization”. (PDF) In: bistum-regensburg.de. Retrieved January 22, 2020 .
  59. ^ Counter -draft by Woelki and Voderholzer for the "Synodal Way". In: domradio.de. Retrieved January 22, 2020 .
  60. ^ Synodal Way: Those responsible reject Woelki's criticism. The daily mail, February 2, 2020, accessed on November 22, 2020 .
  61. ↑ a b Synodal Way - Cologne Diocesan Council criticizes Cardinal Woelki. In: Kirche-und-Leben.de. February 3, 2020, accessed November 22, 2020 .
  62. ↑ Gerald Mayer: The homeless do not have a home office. In: domradio.de. domradio.de, April 4, 2020, accessed on April 14, 2020 .
  63. ^ Italian corona patients have arrived in the Archdiocese of Cologne. April 1, 2020, accessed April 14, 2020 .
  64. ↑ Cardinal Woelki writes letters of thanks to medical staff. April 9, 2020, accessed April 14, 2020 .
  65. ↑ Church + Life: Archdiocese of Cologne blocks the homepage of the Catholic university community. November 19, 2020, accessed January 22, 2020 .
  66. ↑ Zeit online: After criticism: Woelki closes the website of the university community. November 18, 2020, accessed November 22, 2020 .
  67. ↑ Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger: Archdiocese of Cologne switches off critical website. November 18, 2020, accessed November 22, 2020 .
  68. ^ Catholic university community in Cologne. Retrieved November 22, 2020 .
  69. ↑ Evangelical student community Cologne: A position paper of the KHG generates the resistance of the Catholic official church. Retrieved November 22, 2020 .
  70. ↑ We want to remain credible. A position paper of the KHG Cologne. Retrieved November 22, 2020 .
  71. ^ Kathisch.de : Cologne KHG pastor: "Church of Fear must finally be over". November 20, 2020, accessed November 22, 2020 .
  72. ^ The "Action New Neighbors" in the Archdiocese of Cologne | DOMRADIO.DE. Retrieved January 15, 2020 .
  73. ↑ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): 23,000 bell strikes - one for every dead refugee | DW | 06/19/2015. Retrieved January 15, 2020 (German).
  74. ↑ focus.de: Asylum law must remain as it is ; spiegel.de: Cardinal Woelki calls CSU plans unchristian , September 11, 2016 (according to dpa ).
  75. ↑ domradio.de: Word of the Bishop (April 24, 2016) , accessed on April 24, 2016.
  76. ↑ Initiators on missionmanifest.org
  77. ↑ Berliner Zeitung number 301, December 27, 2017, p. 2.
  78. ↑ https://www.domradio.de/themen/glaube/2018-04-04/bischoefe-wend-sich-kommunionfrage-vatikan
  79. ↑ http://www.katholisch.de/aktuelles/aktuelle-artikel/papst-gegen-veroffnahmung-von-handichtung
  80. ↑ http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2018/06/04/francis-blocks-the-document-by-the-german-bishops-in-favor-of-intercommunion-the-complete-text -of-the-letter /? refresh_ce
  81. ↑ http://www.katholisch.de/aktuelles/aktuelle-artikel/kommunion-streit-ladaria-erklart-seinen-brief
  82. ↑ http://www.katholisch.de/aktuelles/aktuelle-artikel/papst-gegen-veroffnahmung-von-handichtung
  83. ^ WDR: Appointment of Woelki is welcomed. July 10, 2014, accessed November 23, 2020 .
  84. ↑ Kölner Stadtanzeiger: Cardinal Woelki does not allow men to get a train. June 16, 2015, accessed November 22, 2020 .
  85. ↑ Domradio: Downsized and renovated. September 3, 2014, accessed November 22, 2020 .
  86. ^ Frankfurter Rundschau: Meisner reloaded. April 9, 2018, accessed November 22, 2020 .
  87. ↑ Vatican News: Cardinal Woelki defends No to the women's priesthoodV. February 17, 2020, accessed November 22, 2020 .
  88. ↑ Domradio: Question already answered bindingly. September 10, 2019, accessed November 22, 2020 .
  89. ^ Catholic.de: Archbishop of Cologne on the Synodal Way, ordination of women and "Maria 2.0". September 17, 2020, accessed November 22, 2020 .
  90. ↑ dbk.de, February 21, 2018
  91. ↑ Press release from September 20, 2016 - No. 175
  92. ↑ Final press conference of the autumn general assembly 2014 of the German Bishops 'Conference in Fulda , press release of the German Bishops' Conference of September 26, 2014
  93. ↑ Cardinal Woelki in two Vatican authorities - new tasks. domradio.de, April 21, 2012, accessed on August 28, 2018 .
  94. ^ Archdiocese of Berlin: press release . Archdiocese website. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  95. ^ Nomina di Membro dell'Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, March 31, 2015, accessed March 31, 2015 (Italian).
  96. ↑ Cardinal Woelki called to the papal congregation. In: www.erzbistum-koeln.de. http://www.erzbistum-koeln.de/news/Kardinal-Woelki-in-paepstliche-Kongregation-berufen/ , October 25, 2016, accessed on October 25, 2016 .
  97. ↑ domradio.de, accessed on March 1, 2012 ; Cologne Carnival Order for Woelki and Becker. catholic1.tv, accessed on February 26, 2012 . ; welt.de
  98. ↑ Japanese honorary doctorate for Cardinal Woelki. (No longer available online.) Protestant press service, archived from the original on March 11, 2016 ; accessed on March 11, 2016 .
predecessor Office successor
Georg Cardinal Sterzinsky Archbishop of Berlin
2011–2014 		Heiner Koch
Joachim Cardinal Meisner Archbishop of Cologne
since 2014 		-
personal data
SURNAME Woelki, Rainer Maria
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Woelki, Rainer Maria Cardinal
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Roman Catholic theologian, Archbishop of Cologne (since 2014), Cardinal, Archbishop of Berlin (2011–2014), Auxiliary Bishop in Cologne (2003–2011)
DATE OF BIRTH August 18, 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH Cologne-Mülheim