The Pope organizes an apostolic visit to the Archdiocese of Cologne

Isabella Piro – Vatican City

Pope Francis organized an apostolic visit to the Archdiocese of Cologne, Germany, to get a full picture of the issue of abuse. The commission fell on Cardinal Anders Arborelius, Bishop of Stockholm, and Monsignor Johannes van den Hende, Bishop of Rotterdam and President of the Dutch Bishops’ Conference. In a letter from the apostolic nunciature in Berlin, it is written:

It should be remembered that on March 18 the “Independent Report on the Fight against Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Cologne” was presented, commissioned in October 2020 by Bishop Woelki himself, and the result of an investigation carried out by the Gercke & Wollschläger. The document, at more than 800 pages, covers the period from 1975 to 2018 with the aim of identifying possible loopholes and existing violations of the law, as well as those responsible. More specifically, the report reports 314 victims of sexual abuse, all minors except one, and 202 assailants, nearly two-thirds of whom belong to the clergy.

“I am happy – said Cardinal Woelki in a note published today on the Archdiocese’s website – that with the apostolic visit the Pope wants to get a personal idea of ​​the independent investigation and its consequences. ” The cardinal concluded: