Archbishop of Cologne offers resignation to Pope Francis for 2nd time

By Ahmet Gencturk

ANKARA (AA) – The archbishop of Cologne, criticized for not publicly releasing a report on child sexual abuse, on Wednesday tendered his resignation to Pope Francis for a second time, the archdiocese of the German city said.

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki has offered his resignation, the archdiocese said in a statement, adding that the pope will make his decision in due course.

Woelki was auxiliary bishop of Cologne in 2003-2011 and was made archbishop in 2011 by then-Pope Benedict XVI.

In 2018, he commissioned a Munich law firm to issue a report on the archdiocese's sexual abuse cases.

But in fall 2020, he blocked its scheduled release.

Following the report's eventual release in March 2021, Woelki said he had acted lawfully, but acknowledged that the church had made mistakes and that some cases could have been handled better by him personally.

Last September, he offered his resignation to Pope Francis, but the pontiff refused, instead granting him a six-month sabbatical.