Those affected in the Archdiocese of Cologne: taken by surprise by Woelki

The Archdiocese of Cologne denies that Cardinal Woelki instrumentalized the advisory board for his purposes. However, research by the FAZ supports this representation.

Dhe Archdiocese of Cologne has obviously found it difficult to respond to the recent allegations in the Woelki case. Five days were allowed to elapse before a statement was published on an article in the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger that documented the exploitation of the Advisory Council for Affected Persons by the Cardinal of Cologne and his circle of leaders. It was also significant that it was not Woelki himself who spoke, but only his new vicar general, Guido Assmann.

The newspaper had quoted from internal documents of the archdiocese. This shows that the PR agency “Ewald & Rössing” Woelki wrote a script in October 2020 on how to manipulate the members of the advisory board for those affected. They should be persuaded to support the non-publication of the first abuse report by the Munich law firm Westphal Spilker Wastl. This decision, which Woelki had long since made at this point, was to be better sold to the public with the help of the Advisory Board. The aim of the strategy was to ensure Woelki’s “survival” in office. The Cologne cardinal and his people apparently followed these instructions.