THE ARCHBISHOP of Cologne has expressed his disappointment following reports staff tried to access pornography on work computers.
Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki was speaking after reports in German media said that over a month-long period, around 1,000 attempts were made to access the material.
According to Cologne newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, one clergy member was believed to be among 15 people responsible.
In a statement, the archdiocese said that there is not believed to be any criminality involved, however Cardinal Woelki condemned the matter.
"I was disappointed that employees tried to access pornographic sites using devices that our Archdiocese made available to them for their service — even when the firewalls worked," said the Archbishop in a statement.
"For some, the consumption of pornography may seem harmless. But I agree with Pope Francis, who condemns them and warns of their dangers, especially violations of human dignity.
File photo: Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki said he was disappointed by the revelatiosn (Image: Pool/Getty Images)"When I found out about it, I asked for the incidents to be checked immediately and to be dealt with in accordance with the legal regulations.
"We have a large number of committed and reliable employees in the church sector. It is important to me that not everyone is now placed under general suspicion."
The statement from the archdiocese said the access attempts came to light following a routine check from its service provider.
The check tests whether firewalls are working but since a software update, URL access attempts that are successfully blocked are now documented.
It added that for the purposes of data protection, its IT checks are not aimed at monitoring individual users' activity.
See More: Catholic Church, Cologne
