The office of the Papal Nuncio in Germany has announced that the Cardinal of Stockholm, Anders Arborelius, and the President of the Dutch Bishops' Conference, Hans van den Hende, will investigate whether the Archdiocese of Cologne mishandled allegations of sexual abuse.
A statement from the Nuncio's office said the Pope's apostolic visitors will be sent to investigate 'possible mistakes' made by Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, Hamburg Archbishop Stefan Hesse, and Cologne auxiliary bishops Dominikus Schwaderlapp and Ansgar Puff.
An independent report requested by the archdiocese found that between 1975 and 2018, 314 underage victims were abused by 202 perpetrators.
The report denounced a systematic lack of accountability, legal clarity, control and transparency that resulted from the secrecy of the parties involved.
The report also stated that Cardinal Woelki properly responded to the allegations.
But even he acknowledges two mistakes he made:
In one instance he did not move a case forward because the defendant was about to die.
In another, he agreed to reinstate a priest in a limited capacity at the request of the Vatican. He later suspended him after new allegations surfaced.
The Cardinal of Cologne has thanked the Pope for the independent investigation which will begin immediately.
JMB
TR: JM
