The president of the German Bishops’ Conference, Georg Baetzing, has said the crisis of confidence in the archdiocese of Cologne is affecting the Church throughout Germany.
Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki has “lost people’s acceptance”, Baetzing said in an interview with the weekly newspaper Die Zeit due to be published on Thursday. “Cologne is not only a front-runner in Church resignations, now all over the country people are also resigning because of Cologne.”
Resign
The Limburg bishop drew a parallel with his own predecessor in office, the former Limburg bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst. The latter had resigned in 2014 under public pressure due a lack of communication about the construction costs for his residence, and has since been working in the Vatican.
In the interview, Baetzing also defended Cardinal Woelki against accusations of perjury, saying: “There is something unworthy about all attempts to prosecute him in court”. He added that the archbishop of Cologne had “probably not made any serious mistakes” in the handling of abuse cases either.
Damages
Baetzing said the archdiocese of Cologne had also acted correctly when it decided in June to waive the statute of limitations after an abuse victim was awarded damages in a court case.
As a result of this waiver, a former altar boy is now entitled to the comparatively high sum of 300,000 euros in compensation for distress and suffering. Other dioceses in Germany must expect similarly high claims if they follow Woelki’s example and act in the victims’ interest by voluntarily waiving the legal protection afforded by the statute of limitations.
Originally reported by KNA Germany.
