Pope’s decision to keep Archbishop of Hamburg sparks sharp criticism in Germany

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Hamburg, Germany – Pope Francis’ decision to reject Archbishop of Hamburg Stefan Hesse’s offer to resign has attracted much criticism in Germany.

While leaders of the German Bishops’ Conference welcomed the decision, representatives of lay Catholics expressed “shock” at the announcement. An organization of victims of abuse has called on Catholics to leave the church. German media comments were also scathing.

The pope’s decision, announced on September 16, means Hesse will remain in office despite acknowledged breaches of duty in handling cases of abuse.

The Archbishop of Hamburg had offered his resignation in March and taken leave following the publication of an expert report by the Cologne law firm Gercke Wollschlaeger which accused him of 11 breaches of his duties in previous functions in the Archdiocese of Cologne.

The president of the German prelates, Bishop Georg Baetzing, welcomed the pope’s decision, saying it ended “a difficult period of uncertainty”. He called on critics to accept the pope’s decision as “well thought out and well founded”.

Baetzing’s assessment was echoed by the vice-president of the prelates, Bishop Franz-Josef Bode, who said he was happy “that after careful consideration there is now a decision”. Referring to Hesse, he told the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung newspaper: “We are happy to continue on the journey with him as Archbishop.

In contrast, the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), the highest body of lay Catholics in the country, said it was “shocked”. The Vatican ignored the need for “visible and tangible changes in the church in order to regain the trust that has been lost,” said Vice President Claudia Luecking-Michel.

If no personal consequences followed bad decisions, it is a “slap in the face for victims of sexual violence,” said Karin Kortmann, who is also vice-president of the ZdK.

Thomas Schueller, an expert on church law from Münster, told the Koelnische Rundschau newspaper: “The repentant sinner has a second chance. He said the Pope was likely to “act quickly” on Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, whose archdiocese was investigated in June by Rome as part of an investigation into what has been called a “complex pastoral situation” in this see.

The group “Wir sind Kirche” (“We are a church”) said the pope’s decision was “very problematic” and predicted that the auxiliary bishops of Cologne, Dominikus Schwaderlapp and Ansgar Puff, would also be likely to be authorized to resume their duties. They were also found guilty of failing to fulfill their obligations according to the expert report.

The group said it feared Woelki would view the pope’s decision as confirmation of his approach “which only assesses legally relevant violations but ignores any moral responsibility on the part of church leaders.”

Matthias Katsch, spokesperson for the “Eckiger Tisch” (“Non-roundtable”) victims association tweeted that the decision amounted to organized irresponsibility and called on people to leave the church. “Otherwise, they won’t notice.

Some German newspaper comments sharply criticized the Pope’s decision. The Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung referred to the 11 Hessian breaches of duty identified by the expert report, writing:. It’s crazy.”

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote: “Francis has taken on more than one case of abuse and has shown mercy to the perpetrators. As a pope, it is his right. … So, for the moment, the fact remains that a bishop must have himself been sexually violent to be considered unacceptable. “

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