German archbishop offers resignation on return from timeout

By GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — A prominent Roman Catholic archbishop who faced strong criticism for his handling of the church’s sexual abuse scandal in Germany says he has offered his resignation to Pope Francis. Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, the archbishop of Cologne, returned to work on Wednesday following a “spiritual timeout” granted by the pontiff. Woelki marked his return with a letter to the faithful in which said he was “not returning unchanged, as if nothing had happened in this time.” In September, the Vatican said Francis had decided to give the cardinal a several-month timeout after he made “major errors” of communication. The Cologne archdiocese said Francis would decide whether to accept Woelki’s resignation “in due course.”