The blessing of same-sex couples on Wednesday was the latest sign of rebellion of believers in Germany’s most populous diocese with about 1.8 million members.

Representatives of the Roman Curia and the German bishops’ conference discussed theological and disciplinary issues related to the German church’s Synodal Path in a “positive and constructive climate” during a meeting at the Vatican July 26.

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki plans to take legal action after investigators searched his residence and other buildings of the Archdiocese of Cologne June 27, the KNA news agency reported.

More than half a million people formally left the Catholic Church in Germany last year, significantly higher than the previous record as the church wrestles with a long-running scandal over abuse by clergy.

Speculation surrounding the return to Germany of Georg Gänswein is continuing unabated, not least because his status remains unclear now that he has been sent away from the Vatican.

“It’s a fact that church attendance has strongly (been) reduced, with a significant and steady decline in priestly vocations and church membership, and an increasing loss of financial income.”