"I don't see the slightest reason why Cardinal Woelki should resign"

Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, the former prefect of the Roman Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has criticized the way Pope Francis dealt with Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne.

"I don't see the slightest reason why Cardinal Woelki should resign"

Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, the former prefect of the Roman Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has criticized the way Pope Francis dealt with Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne. "I don't see the slightest reason why Cardinal Woelki should resign," said Müller in Rome. There was absolutely nothing against Woelki, he was just the victim of defamation campaigns, said Müller.

Pope Francis said last Sunday that he wanted to take his time with his decision on Woelki. "We'll see. You don't make a decision like that under pressure," said the 85-year-old head of the Catholic Church. In June, Francis said in an interview that he had asked Woelki to submit a request for his resignation. This is now before him and he can decide at any time. The background is the "turbulent situation" in the Archdiocese of Cologne.

Müller sharply criticized this state of uncertainty. “This gives the impression that the bishops are just pawns that the pope can move around at will. The bishops are actually appointed by Christ, who have the same rank as the pope in the episcopate. The pope is not the boss, the employer of the bishops. He can only dismiss a bishop in extreme cases if he is guilty of serious breaches of his official duties.”

Pope Francis had accused Woelki of “big mistakes” last year, especially in his communication, and sent him on a five-month sabbatical. Woelki had previously come under criticism, among other things, because he had not initially published an expert opinion on how diocese officials deal with allegations of abuse due to legal concerns.