Pope Leo was elected 4 weeks ago. We are very pleased to read that Elza, Roberto and Luigi Sandri were present at an event with Pope Leo on May 30th.

If Leo wants to be a successful pontiff, i.e. a ‘bridge builder’, we have to go on to strengthen the reform orientated ‘bridge pillar’ based on the Second Vatican Council into all processes and debates. This is a task that We are Church has been carrying out for 30 years together with many other global reform forces. The death of Francis and the election of Leo attracted a great deal of attention worldwide. In Germany We are Church was quite active with media work. But we have to continue.

Similar to Valerie I have started a new section https://www.wir-sind-kirche.de/leo14 on our website with first statements by Pope Leo XIV., first votes on his election and (online) events on the new Pope Leo XIV. In Germany, he has met with considerable approval because, as a cardinal, he has shown himself to be open to the German synodal path.

A week ago we started a Petition to Pope Leo XIV: “Cardinal Woelki is no longer acceptable!”, that has reached almost 60.000 signatures. In short: The Cologne public prosecutor's office assessed two facts sworn to in court by Cardinal Woelki as ‘objectively incorrect’ and ‘objectively untrue’. Nevertheless, the investigations against him were dropped, as the accused had not previously ‘appeared in criminal proceedings’. Furthermore, in the opinion of the Cologne public prosecutor's office, he made the two false oaths ‘negligently’, as he did not check the claims made in them, but made them ‘for the sake of it’.

Both cases concerned Cardinal Woelki's handling of allegations of sexual abuse by priests of the Archdiocese of Cologne. The cardinal denied the accusation that he had not acted appropriately in both cases with a written affidavit and a sworn statement in court. In the opinion of the public prosecutor's office in Cologne, he ‘breached the duty of care incumbent upon him’.

Best wishes from Germany

C h r i s t i a n