Pope Leo Faces First Major Test Over 'Morally Corrupt' Bishop

Pope Leo Faces First Major Test Over 'Morally Corrupt' Bishop

More than 60,000 people have signed a petition calling for the removal of Cologne Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki. ...

Petition to Pope Leo XIV to remove German cardinal gains over 60K signatures

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, archbishop of Cologne in Germany. / Credit: Marko Orlovic/German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 6, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA). Here’s a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that yo... [...]

Pope Leo faces first major test over 'morally corrupt' bishop

More than 60,000 people have signed a petition calling for the removal of Cologne Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki.

Petition to Pope Leo XIV to Remove German Cardinal Gains Over 60K Signatures

Marko Orlovic Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, archbishop of Cologne in Germany. The German-language petition accuses Cardinal Woelki of moral corruption.

Pope Leo Faces First Major Test Over ‘Morally Corrupt’ Bishop

Pope Leo XIV is set to face one of his first major tests with a petition addressed to him calling for the removal of Cologne Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki over concerns about his handling of sexual abuse allegations. Newsweek has contacted the Vatican via email, for comment. Why It Matters As the newly elected pope, people will be watching how Leo handles concerns about sex abuse in the church. How the Vatican responds to the petition, which has