Cologne, Germany, Jan 11, 2016 / 03:21 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A week after hundreds were attacked in Cologne on New Year’s Eve, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising and president of the German Conference of Catholic Bishops, condemned the attacks in a press release and called for more vigilance in the future.
“(T)he excesses in Cologne and other large cities are deeply disturbing for our society and can in no way be tolerated,” Marx said.
“We need accurate information and a clear response from the authorities.”
Over 500 criminal complaints – about 40 percent of which involve allegations of sexual assault – have been filed to the German police regarding attacks that took place in the square outside Cologne’s main train station on Monday night according to BBC.
Women appeared to be intentional targets of the attacks, which were allegedly carried out by large groups of seeming Arabs or North Africans.
The incident has sparked national and international controversy, with accusations of a cover-up by the police, media and politicians after investigations indicated many of the attackers were men who entered the country as refugees.
The local police have been inundated with accusations over the delay in informing the public about the attacks. They have also been criticized for supposedly holding back information about the nationality of the suspects.
German bishops also faced criticisms for their failure to respond in a timely manner.
In his Jan. 8 statement, Cardinal Marx warned that “these new forms of violence and especially the inhumane treatment of women cannot be tolerated” and he demanded that “all the different forces in society must work together to prevent this type of incidents and guarantee safety.”
“As a Church we are here to make our contribution to participate in a society that lives in mutual respect,” he stated.
The Cologne chief of police, Wolfgang Albers, lost his job over the controversy. He was dismissed Monday, Jan. 11.
A police report leaked to press noted that when he was arrested one of the suspects exclaimed “I’m a Syrian. You have to treat me well. Mrs. Merkel invited me,” referring to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
In late November, Merkel was harshly criticized for promoting an open door policy for refugees, despite various security concerns. In 2015, the country took in more than 1 million asylum seekers, largely from North Africa and the Middle East.
In a statement to the BBC, Merkel described the attacks as “repugnant criminal acts” that Germany “will not accept.”
The German Chancellor demanded that “everything that happened there will be brought to the table.”
"We must examine again and again whether we have already done what is necessary in terms of deportations from Germany, in order to send clear signals to those who are not prepared to abide by our legal order."
Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker also came under fire for her response to the attacks, when she initially refuted the link to migrants and said that the city will be publishing “online guides” to help women and girls be “better prepared” when they go out at night.
Article Archive
After week of silence, German bishops respond to Cologne attacks
Related Articles • More Articles
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee speaks during the signing of the ELVIS Act to Protect Voice & Likeness in Age of AI event at Robert's Western World on March 21, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee. / Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Human Artistry CampaignWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).The first English-language translation of the Bible in the United States will become an "official state book" in Tennessee on July 1.Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, signed a bill on Tuesday that names the Aitken Bible and nine other texts as official state books in the Tennessee Blue Book (an official manual on the state government). This is the first time Tennessee has formally recognized any official state books.The Bible translation was published by Philadelphia printer Robert Aitken in 1782 and received an official endorsement from Congress. The American Revolution, which began in 1776, halted trade with Great Britain and cut off the supply of Bibles, which prompte...
Cardinal Wilton Gregory speaks at an interview in Rome on April 11, 2024. / Credit: "EWTN News Nightly" screen shotRome Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).As the Catholic Church's first African American cardinal was honored at a U.S. seminary in Rome, he recalled the legacy of faith and perseverance of Black Catholics in America, including at a time when they were not accepted by U.S. seminaries. Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, received this year's Rector's Award at an April 11 banquet at the Pontifical North American College, where seminarians from across 99 dioceses in the U.S. live while studying for the priesthood in Rome.In an interview with CNA before the award ceremony, Gregory pointed out that in the 19th century, African Americans who had a vocation to the priesthood were sent to study in Rome and then to serve as missionaries in Africa because at the time they were not allowed to enter U.S. seminaries."Being in Rome reminds me also tha...
Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako presides over the dedication ceremony of the altar of the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Mosul, Iraq. April 5, 2024. / Credit: Fadi Dinkha/ACI MenaCNA Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).When the altar of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chaldean Catholic Church was consecrated earlier this month in Mosul, Iraq, a former parishioner now living in the United States said she was moved to tears."My eyes were filled with tears as I watched my church and my school return to the beautiful picture engraved in my memory," said Georgena Habbaba, who used to attend the parish and study at the parish school with her brothers. Her own children studied there, too, before the family had to flee Mosul amid worsening violence in 2007. (Note: Habbaba also writes for ACI Mena, CNA's Arabic-language news partner.)"I remembered the wonderful days I spent studying at this school and praying in this church. Very close to my family's house," she t...