Cologne Catholic diocese clergy and staff used work computers for porn

Clergy and unit of the Archdiocese of Cologne tried to browse pornography connected enactment PCs, its archbishop has confirmed.

German media said astir 1,000 attempts to presumption restricted sites were logged erstwhile the organisation ran a period of tests connected its IT information systems.

At slightest 1 elder clergy subordinate was among 15 radical identified, the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger paper reported.

The archbishop, Rainer Maria Woelki, said helium had ordered an probe that would woody with those responsible.

Watching pornography connected archdiocese computers is strictly prohibited, arsenic is accessing worldly connected drugs and violence.

The bulk of the suspicious enactment acrophobic pornographic sites, according to the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger.

In a connection supplied to the BBC by the archdiocese, Cardinal Woelki said helium was "disappointed... that employees attempted to entree pornographic sites".

An probe had been launched truthful those liable would beryllium dealt with, arsenic it was "important to maine that not everyone beryllium placed nether wide suspicion now", helium added.

The archdiocese said the accusation referred to successful the German property study was collated during a cheque of its IT security's quality to artifact entree to sites that "pose a hazard (violence, pornography, drugs, etc)".

It added determination was "no valuation of the circumstantial contented down the URLs" successful question, but determination were "no indications of criminally applicable conduct".

The tests, conducted betwixt May and June of past year, were not specifically aimed astatine investigating the behaviour of unit oregon clergy, it said.

Guido Assmann, the vicar-general of Cologne, said his organisation was "very aware" of the problem, but that helium was "pleased that our information systems were effective".

Meanwhile, a website for the Catholic Church successful Germany, Katholisch.de, reported that nationalist prosecutors were investigating a layman identified among the 15 separately connected suspicion of possessing "criminal content".

The archdiocese told the BBC it was co-operating "fully with the authorities authorities", and that the idiosyncratic acrophobic was "no longer active" successful the organisation.

The reports travel aft a bid of scandals that person engulfed the archdiocese, the largest successful Germany with much than 2 cardinal members.

A study successful 2021 recovered determination had been much than 200 abusers and much than 300 victims - mostly nether the property of 14 - betwixt 1975 and 2018 successful the Cologne archdiocese area.

In June, constabulary raided archdiocese spot successful an probe into the Cardinal Woelki, who is accused of perjuring himself successful an probe into maltreatment committed by Winfried Pilz, a clergyman who ran a children's charity. Pilz died successful 2019.

The archdiocese said the accusations against Cardinal Woelki needed to beryllium proven oregon refuted.

Woelki past twelvemonth offered his resignation to the Pope. Rome has not yet made a determination connected whether to judge it.