- Clergy and Personnel Attempted to Access Pornographic Material on Work Computers
- Approximately 1,000 Attempts to Access Restricted Websites Recorded
- Archdiocese Investigates and Cooperates with Authorities Amidst Scandals
Archbishop of Cologne confirms that clergy and personnel attempted to view pornographic material on work computers.
German media reported 1,000 attempts to access blocked websites during a month-long IT security test.
The Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger reported that among the 15 individuals identified, at least one was a senior clergy member.
Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki stated that he had ordered an investigation to determine who was at fault.
Access to pornographic and drug-related information is rigorously prohibited on archdiocese computers.
The preponderance of suspicious activity, according to the Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger, involved pornographic websites.
Cardinal Woelki stated in a statement that he was “disappointed… that employees attempted to access pornographic sites.”
He added that an investigation had been launched so that those culpable could be punished, as it was “important to me that not everyone is held in suspicion at this time.”
The archdiocese stated that the information mentioned in the German media report was compiled during a test of its IT security’s ability to block access to sites that “pose a risk (violence, pornography, etc.)”.
In addition, there was “no evaluation of the specific content behind the URLs” and “no indications of criminally relevant behavior.”
The tests given in May and June last year were not meant to probe workers or clergy.
The vicar-general of Cologne, Guido Assmann, stated that his organization was “very aware” of the issue, but he was “pleased that our security systems were effective.”
In the meantime, the German Catholic Church’s website Katholisch.de reported that public prosecutors were investigating a layman suspected of possessing “criminal content” separately from the other 14 individuals.
Archdiocese is “fully cooperating with state authorities” and that the individual was “no longer active” in the organisation.
The allegations follow a series of scandals that have engulfed Germany’s largest archdiocese, which has more than two million members.
In the Cologne archdiocese area between 1975 and 2018, there were more than 200 perpetrators and more than 300 victims, the majority of whom were under 14 years old, according to a report published in 2021.
In June, police raided archdiocese property as part of an investigation into Cardinal Woelki, who is accused of perjuring himself during an investigation into abuse committed by priest Winfried Pilz, who ran a charity for children. Pilz passed away in 2019.
The archdiocese stated that Cardinal Woelki’s allegations must be proved or refuted.
Woelki tendered his resignation to the Pope last year. Rome has not yet decided whether or not to embrace it.
