Synodal Way dispute escalates

At the Council of European Bishops' Conference in Malta, Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, Germany and Archbishop Stanislaw Gądecki of Poznan, Poland engaged in a tense encounter.

This followed Bätzing's public accusations against Gądecki for alleged false statements about the Synodal Way.

Bätzing accused his Polish counterpart of "overstepping his authority" and "unbrotherly behaviour" by not raising the issue during the synodal meeting in Rome.

Despite their discussion aiming for Church unity, tensions persisted, highlighting the ongoing discord about the controversial German process.

The Vatican's recent interventions and Pope Francis's stance have added weight to concerns, reflecting deeper divisions within the German Church.

Pope Francis acts against Cardinal Burke

Pope Francis has taken significant action against Cardinal Raymond Burke, revoking his subsidised Vatican apartment and salary, citing Burke's role in fomenting church disunity.

Burke has been a vocal critic of the pope's Church reforms.

According to an anonymous source, Francis was removing Burke's privileges because he used them against the church.

The move follows previous clashes between Burke and Francis over doctrinal questions and Burke's involvement in counter-synodal activities.

Letter to Pope: Synod report will disappoint

Leading reform-minded Catholics, including former Irish president Mary McAleese, penned an open letter expressing concern to Pope Francis and Synod participants.

The signatories anticipate the Synod's report will "disappoint and wound" Catholics worldwide.

They claim the Synod is one "in which prophetic voices won no significant concessions from the powerful and wealthy forces of conservatism".

The group found that the Synthesis Report published following last month's Synod was not "so much a synthesis as the minutes of an apparently unresolved quarrel".

The quarrel was between an "emerging lay church" and "bishops who have yet to find the courage to let go of their privileges" they said.

Disappointment stemmed from the absence of progress on critical issues like women's ordination, LGBTIQ rights, celibacy and clerical abuse.

Bishop Strickland's removal 'internal persecution'

Bishop Athanasius Schneider has decried the dismissal of Bishop Joseph Strickland as an act of unjust authority, signalling an "internal persecution" against faithful Catholics.

"This will go down in history as a great injustice against a bishop who only did his task in a time of confusion" said Bishop Schneider in an interview with the Catholic Herald.

Schneider described Strickland as a defender of Catholic faith and truth, citing his stance against distortions and his commitment to spiritual growth within the Church.

He criticised the trend of punishing faithful bishops while ignoring those undermining the faith, seeing it as an attempt to silence and dismantle communities adhering to tradition.

Potential for schism

Continued pressure on Pope Francis originates from both the conservative right and liberal left, risking a potential schism.

The right's resistance poses a threat as they are unlikely to be asked to depart.

At the same time, the left's dissatisfaction stems from the Church's apparent inability to tap into its democratic core.

Sources

Catholic News Agency

AP News

The Irish Times

The Catholic Herald

Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, 72, was asked about his meeting with Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican's Secretary for Relations with States, following a May 17-20 visit to Ukraine.

Gądecki (pictured) told KAI: "In my opinion, the Vatican's approach to Russia should change to a more mature one, since the past and present approach seems very naive and utopian.

"Of course, the goal of establishing contacts and dialogue is noble, which is based on the fact that Russia is big and deserves respect. But this is not accompanied by sufficiently serious reflection on the Vatican's part."

He went on: "For Russia, the Vatican is an important entity, but at the same time, it should be humiliated, as Putin himself has shown several times by being intentionally late by several hours for a scheduled meeting with the pope."

Gądecki was referring to meetings between the Russian president and the pope at the Vatican in 2013, 2015 and 2019. Putin was reportedly 50 minutes late for the papal audience in 2013, 70 minutes late in 2015 and nearly an hour late in 2019.

The archbishop added: "The Holy See should understand that in its relations with Russia it should be more cautious to say the least, because, from the experience of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, it seems that lying is second nature to Russian diplomacy."

Gadecki acknowledged that the Vatican knew Christians were fighting on both sides of the war. However, he also noted that the Vatican normally does not point to an aggressor.

"Yet today, in a situation of war, it's crucially important the Holy See supports Ukraine at all levels and isn't guided by utopian thoughts," said Archbishop Gadecki.

The archbishop told KAI the Polish delegation had seen buildings destroyed by Russian tank fire outside the massacre towns of Irpin and Bucha, near Kyiv. He said he had witnessed similar destruction during visits to Iraq and Syria. The mass graves reminded him of Russia's 1940 massacre of interned Polish army officers at Katyn.

"When I prayed at places where dead people on the proscribed lists were buried and later exhumed, I had the sad thought that human civilisation isn't really making any progress," Archbishop Gadecki said.

"We've heard so many declarations and incantations over recent decades about such crimes no longer being possible given the present level of civilisation, but murdering people has turned out to be just as possible as before ... As soon as a political leader appears with strength and determination to destroy his opponents, he'll do so, and no one can stop him."

Sources

Catholic News Agency

National Catholic Reporter

Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, Germany (pictured on the left) was answering criticisms levelled at Germany's Synodal Way by Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki of Poznan, Poland (pictured on the right).

Bätzing explained that the Synodal Way was intended as a response to an analysis of clerical abuse in the German Church known as the MHG study.

"To us, this starting point in abuse, which you do not mention in your letter, is very important," he wrote.

"Only if we address the systemic causes of the unspeakable suffering brought upon people by representatives of the Church, mostly priests, will it be possible at all to reopen the space in which a proclamation of the Good News meets with open ears."

He went on: "Yes, only in this way will we achieve new credibility and new trust in the public and among the faithful, which we have squandered."

"In this sense, the Synodal Way is a ‘way of conversion and renewal,' as it says in its statutes, a way that also lets us learn anew as we walk.

"Here, too, an exchange seems helpful to me. I would like to learn from you how you confront the systemic causes of the thousands of abuses that we have to perceive here in Germany, with you in Poland, but also worldwide."

Bätzing was referring to the abuse crisis that has shaken the Church in Poland in recent years. This led to Vatican disciplinary action against a series of mostly retired bishops accused of negligent handling of abuse cases.

Bätzing comments follow Gądecki's nearly 3,000-word letter published on February 22, questioning whether the Synodal Way was rooted in the Gospel.

"Faithful to the Church's teaching, we should not yield to the pressures of the world or to the patterns of the dominant culture since this can lead to moral and spiritual corruption," the archbishop of Poznań wrote.

"Let us avoid the repetition of worn-out slogans and standard demands such as the abolition of celibacy, the priesthood of women, communion for the divorced, and the blessing of same-sex unions."

Recently, the Bishops' Conference of the Nordic Countries also raised concerns over "the direction, the methodology and the substance" of the Synodal Way reform consultations in Germany.

Sources

• Catholic News Agency
• CathNews New Zealand

"We are bound together by a common history and the holy Christian faith," Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki wrote in a February 14 letter to the Orthodox and Catholic bishops of Russia and Ukraine.

"Let us therefore unite the spiritual efforts of the followers of Christ of different denominations in Russia, Ukraine and Poland, together offering fervent prayer to the One who alone is Peace, to avert the spectre of another war in our region," he said.

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In particular, they highlighted the "disproportionate punishments" inflicted on bishops accused of cover-ups in comparison with convicted abusers.

Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, president of the Polish bishops' conference, told Poland's Catholic Information Agency, KAI, that Polish bishops met with Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, at the Vatican Oct 12.

Gadecki said the bishops were trying to be faithful to Pope Francis' May 2019 motu proprio, "Vos Estis Lux Mundi". This revised and clarified norms and procedures for holding bishops and religious superiors accountable for protecting abusers.

"Our task is to work with the Holy Father in clearing up our church's current situation. This has undermined trust among certain people," Archbishop Gadecki told KAI after the meeting with Cardinal Ouellet.

"But critical remarks have been made about the Holy See's treatment of bishops who have had punishments imposed for shortcomings, transgressions or acts of forgetfulness in dealing with clergy accused of paedophilia.

Some (Polish bishops) highlighted the disproportionate, lasting penalties imposed on bishops after initial investigations, when paedophile criminals can leave prison after five years and begin a new life with a clean sheet."

"We're talking about the civil death of an accused member in the hierarchy who isn't a paedophile, who's removed from office, falls into infamy and is effectively annihilated by the media", Archbishop Gadecki told KAI.

"The cardinal was rather surprised by my words", Gadecki continued. "But he accepted we were not being aggressive toward the Holy See, just asking questions whether all of this conforms with the principle of proportionate guilt and punishment."

Ten mostly retired bishops have faced sanctions for ignoring abuse complaints in Poland, where allegations of past cover-ups are surfacing.

Archbishop Gadecki told KAI Cardinal Ouellet pledged to take account of the Polish bishops' criticisms when procedures set out in "Vos Estis Lux Mundi" were reviewed in 2022.

The archbishop said the aim of the review should be "not to release bishops from responsibility for their actions, but to reflect on a possible gradation of punishments."

Sources

Catholic News

Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki of Poznan said most bishops worldwide also ignored the proposal.

He said: "The title of Doctor of the Church is reserved for saints who performed a special service, especially in the development of theology.

"The idea of patrons for all Europe is quite a new one, dating from the twentieth century when the founders of Europe's contemporary order looked for ways of integrating our continent's nations and states. Although the first stage of our initiative has been completed, and the appropriate seeds sown in the ground, it seems we'll now need a lot of patience."

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