The state-appointed chairman of the commission to investigate abuse in the Archdiocese of Cologne has quit, saying he doubted the commission’s independence and wondered whether its main aim was to protect Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki.

Newsroom (6/12/2022 7:02 PM, Gaudium Press) — The German Catholic news agency KNA reported Stephan Rixen has stepped down as head of the Independent Commission for the Investigation of Abuse in the Archdiocese of Cologne and has withdrawn from the body. Rixen told KNA on Dec. 5 that his initial doubts about the independence and effectiveness of the committee had been confirmed.

The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia had appointed Rixen, a constitutional lawyer, to the committee made up of representatives of the diocese, scholars and people with practical expertise, and victims of abuse. Committee members were recruited partly by the church and the state government, and the local bishop formally appointed all.

Rixen recalled a discussion the commission had with Cardinal Woelki, the cardinal’s office manager and the intervention officer of the archdiocese. The conversation about abuse allegations against Father Winfried Pilz, a prominent priest who worked with a children’s mission society, had left him with a “massive sense of unease,” the lawyer said. Rixen said he did not want to have to constantly ask himself whether someone was telling him the truth.

“I lack the confidence that a reappraisal that also affects Cardinal Woelki himself is really desired,” he said.

Father Pilz, a priest of the Cologne Archdiocese, spent the last years of his life in the Diocese of Dresden until he died in 2019. Cardinal Woelki is accused of not having initially informed the diocese about the abuse allegations against the priest. The cardinal insists that he was not involved in the case until 2022.

KNA reported Rixen complained that a climate had arisen in which new “misunderstandings” may be intentionally arising “that always have the same result: Cardinal Woelki has made no mistakes.” He said he had the impression that most members of the Cologne commission did not want to come into conflict with the archdiocese’s leadership.

The lawyer also voiced doubts that a reappraisal under the church’s leadership could produce meaningful results.

“There are endless possibilities for manipulation,” he said.

After accusations of the mishandling of priests accused of sexual abuse, Cardinal Woelki took a sabbatical from October 2021 to March 2022. He has submitted a letter of resignation to Pope Francis, who has not yet decided.

In a May meeting with editors of 10 Jesuit magazines in Europe, Pope Francis said he was waiting to see how the situation in Cologne evolves.

“What is happening is that there are a lot of pressure groups, and under pressure it is not possible to discern,” Pope Francis said. “To be able to discern, I am waiting until there is no pressure. The fact that there are different points of view is fine. The problem is when there is pressure. That does not help.”

• Raju Hasmukh with files from UCAN News