Overview

• A victim advocacy group filed a complaint accusing Cardinal Woelki’s office of attempted process fraud in Melanie F.’s €830,000 lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Cologne.
• Lawyers allege the archdiocese withheld and misrepresented 1980s documents showing the church knew about priest Bernd Ue.’s role in fostering children.
• Key records include letters from Cardinal Joseph Höffner mandating a housekeeper as a condition for Ue. to take in foster children.
• The archdiocese denies institutional liability, arguing the abuses occurred in a private capacity despite past rulings holding the church responsible in similar cases.
• Cologne public prosecutors have opened a formal investigation and the next court hearing in the civil suit is scheduled for July 1, 2025.