Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, chair of the German Bishops' Conference, stated "The figures show that the church is in a comprehensive crisis".

The statistics revealed a significant drop in Catholic Church membership. Approximately 403,000 Catholics left the church last year, reducing the total to 20.3 million by the end of 2023, down from 20.94 million the previous year.

Bätzing warned that resignation or fear are not the right responses. He emphasised the church's enduring mission to "proclaim the good news of the loving, creative and liberating God".

The bishop urged immediate church reforms, arguing that while they alone would not solve the crisis, the situation would deteriorate without them. "People still have high expectations of the church, particularly in social and educational sectors" he noted.

He emphasised the importance of aligning church priorities with people's real lives, particularly focusing on young people and their families.

Devastating abuse crisis

A total of 1,779,014 people have left the Church in Germany since 2019 in the wake of the devastating abuse crisis. Coincidentally, that was the same year that the Synodal Way was launched,

According to the bishops' conference figures, there were 20.3 million Catholics in Germany at the end of 2023. That figure represents 24 % of the total population of 84.7 million.

To leave the Church formally in Germany, baptised Catholics must book an appointment at a local registry office or court, provide official documents and pay a fee. They are given a certificate confirming they are no longer registered and therefore not liable for the country's church tax.

They also receive a letter from local Church officials informing them they can no longer receive the sacraments, hold Church posts or serve as baptismal or confirmation sponsors.

Sources

Katholisch

The Pillar

CathNews New Zealand

"I have never heard him speak like that before and have often spoken to him personally about these issues" said the Limburg bishop.

"Let me say: for me, what is doctrinal is not what the Pope says in interviews - but what he decides to do and puts it down in official documents."

In an interview with CBS during Pentecost, Pope Francis was asked if a Catholic girl could ever become a deacon and thus part of the clergy. His response was a clear "No".

He elaborated that women cannot be ordained as deacons but have always taken on diaconal roles without ordination.

"Women are great in their service as women - but not in service with ordination" the Pope said.

Bätzing highlighted that the issue of women's ordination has been a significant topic in discussions during the World Synod.

Pope Francis had set up a working group to explore the matter and had never given the impression that the issue was settled.

However, Bätzing expressed concern that the Pope might avoid a direct resolution by referring such crucial matters to working groups and excluding them from the second phase of the World Synod.

"You cannot just talk abstractly about synodality; it must be addressed with concrete examples" Bätzing said.

Significant reform pressure

Despite this, Bätzing observed that the Synod had developed a dynamic momentum. He stated "The questions are there, and the drive is there, and it cannot be stopped."

He acknowledged there is significant reform pressure within the Church, not only in Germany.

Presenting his book "Rome is Not an Opponent - Why the Church Needs Reforms", Bätzing reiterated his stance on women's ordination. He believes it could fit well within today's cultural context.

He also envisioned the possibility of married priests.

While Bätzing himself embraces celibacy, he questioned whether maintaining such prerequisites might jeopardise essential elements of the Church.

"Is celibacy more important or is the sacramentality of the Church more important?" he asked.

Sources

Katholisch

CathNews New Zealand

Conference president Bishop Georg Bätzing says under half of Germany's citizens still belong to Christian denominations.

Evangelisation in Germany has been a central theme since the time of Pope St John Paul II he says.

"But the other half [who aren't Christian] are not simply faithless or don't ask any questions and, in this respect, I believe we need to do much more" Bätzing says.

"We should get in touch with these people, talk to them without being intrusive. The times of a mission with a negative tone are over, but speaking and answering questions about the hope that fills us, as the letter to the Hebrews says, is part of Christianity."

Losses by the number

Bätzing's own Diocese of Limburg exemplifies the reduction in the Catholic faithful of Germany.

In 2016, over 630,000 Catholics resided in Limburg. By 2022, there were fewer than 540,000.

The overall Catholic population in Germany has likewise significantly decreased.

In 2020, there were approximately 22.19 million Catholics among the country's 83 million population. By 2022, this number had fallen to 20.94 million.

Projecting the future

In 2019, scientists at the University of Freiburg predicted the number of Christians paying church tax (a requirement for practising Christians) in Germany would halve by 2060.

The Bishops' Conference says that within three years over 500,000 baptised Catholics had left the Church.

At that time, Bätzing wrote on his diocese's website that the "alarming" figures showed the necessity of continued "cultural change" and for the German Synodal Way resolutions to be implemented.

However the German Synodal Way, which has advocated for significant changes, has not changed the haemorrhaging Church numbers.

In 2021 CNA Deutsch reported that a third of Catholics in Germany were considering leaving the Church.

Older people cited the Church's handling of the abuse crisis. An earlier study had said that younger people didn't want to pay church tax.

Excommunication and evangelisation

The German Bishops' Conference says leaving the Church results in automatic excommunication.

Many theologians and canon lawyers disagree with this view.

Pope Francis prefers to focus on evangelisation.

He wrote to German Catholics in 2019, urging them to focus on evangelisation amid a "growing erosion and deterioration of faith".

Relying solely on internal strengths doesn't work, he wrote.

"Every time an ecclesial community has tried to get out of its problems alone, relying solely on its own strengths, methods and intelligence, it has ended up multiplying and nurturing the evils it wanted to overcome."

In September 2021, a motion to emphasise evangelisation was narrowly passed.

Exactly a year later, Bätzing said the shortest definition of religion was "interruption".

Some forms of continuity which people seek from religion are "frankly suspect" he said.

Source

• Catholic News Agency

The council was intended to be a mixed body of laity and bishops governing the Church in Germany. It was scheduled for discussion during a February 19-22 plenary assembly in Augsburg.

Matthias Kopp, spokesperson for the German Bishops Conference (DBK), confirmed on February 17 that the bishops have withdrawn a vote on endorsing a committee responsible for preparing the Synodal Council.

The development comes after the DBK received a letter from the Vatican shortly before the start of the plenary session.

"This letter requests that the General Assembly — also due to upcoming discussions between representatives of the Roman Curia and representatives of the German Bishops' Conference — not vote on the statutes of the Synodal Committee" Kopp told Germany's Catholic News Agency (KNA).

Although not explicitly listed on the publicly available agenda, the vote on approving the committee's formation was widely anticipated during the DBK assembly.

The decision to remove it from the agenda is notable. It marks a rare instance of Vatican pressure influencing the DBK's progression with a Synodal Way priority since its inception in 2019.

Dialogue with Rome

The DBK chairman, Bishop Georg Bätzing, said the letter's timing "surprised" him.

At the same time, Bätzing emphasised unity with Rome. He said it was a matter of course to comply with this request "out of respect for the Roman authorities".

There is a high interest among the bishops in staying in dialogue with the Roman authorities.

"We will use the time to discuss the objections from the Roman side, to derive consequences from them and to prepare the talks" Bätzing said.

"We do not and cannot simply ignore the Roman objection. Now, we need to talk."

Meanwhile Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna has urged German bishops to heed the Vatican's warnings and maintain dialogue.

Speaking to "communio.de" Schönborn supported Rome's critique of Germany's reform plan, including the establishment of a Synodal Council. He also cited concerns over lay involvement conflicting with Church doctrine.

Schönborn further warned against actions leading to schism and urged loyalty to the Pope.

"I am impressed by the patience with which the Pope and the Roman dicasteries are trying to remain in dialogue with the German bishops and maintain unity and communion" the Cardinal emphasised.

The current conflict between the German bishops and Rome is not about "questions of power" or disciplinary issues, Schönborn added.

"Rather, Pope Francis is fulfilling his core task of maintaining unity in the faith" because it is about the "basic understanding of the Church".

Sources

Catholic News Agency

Crux Now

Katholisch

CathNews New Zealand

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

Previously for a vote to pass, two-thirds of bishops were required to vote in favour of a decision; now, it requires only two-thirds of all members (bishops and laypeople) for a vote to pass.

Convened to navigate changes following a crisis within the Catholic Church, the synodal way witnessed discussions on various topics. These included women deacons, priestly celibacy and greater lay involvement in selecting bishops.

Among the Synodal Way's most controversial proposals was the creation of a synodal committee to ensure that resolutions are enacted in German dioceses to prepare the way for a permanent body called the "synodal council" in 2026.

Conversely, Vatican officials deemed it a structure surpassing the German bishops' authority.

Despite objections, German Church leaders persist in advocating for this council. They assert it has features distinct from those critiqued by the Vatican.

However, disagreements persisted regarding the voting process, particularly concerning the bishops' role and influence within the committee.

Advocates for change cited a need to modify the rules following a resolution addressing the Church's approach to sexual ethics. This issue failed to garner the required two-thirds bishop majority.

Bishops can easily be outvoted

Notably, altering the voting regulations led to varied reactions. Some welcomed the adjustment, foreseeing increased efficiency and progress within the committee.

ZdK (Central Committee of German Catholics) leader Irme Stetter-Karp, who called for a change in the voting procedure after the synodal way ended in March, expressed her satisfaction after the two-thirds of Bishops rule was dropped.

"This committee, which I would like to respectfully call a real team, will be able to achieve a great deal for the future of the Church in Germany."

On the other hand, critics expressed concerns about the potential marginalisation of the bishops' authority. They claim it undermines their influence in decision-making.

Writing for the Catholic weekly newspaper Die Tagespost, the journalist Peter Winnemöller said: "A little basic arithmetic is enough to realise that with a maximum of 20 participating bishops, they can easily be outvoted even if all bishops disagree with a decision."

However, German bishops' conference Bishop Georg Bätzing sees the change as positive, commenting "The synodal committee has gained momentum. I am grateful that we have now entered a new phase" he said on 11 November.

"I am therefore happy to take up a phrase from the synod on synodality: Church on the move — we experienced this in Rome and also now in Essen."

Sources

The Pillar

CathNews New Zealand

The resolution, called "Life in succeeding relationships - The principles of renewed sexual ethics," was voted on by the synodal meeting's 209 participants, of which more than two-thirds voted in favour.

However, the resolution failed to gain the support of two-thirds of the synod's bishops. Despite 61% of voting German bishops supporting the resolution, 21 bishops who voted 'no' prevented its passage.

The resolution argued that it would not be possible to reorient pastoral care without redefining the Church's sexual teachings significantly. It stated that it is "urgently necessary to overcome some of the restrictions in questions of sexuality, for reasons of sexual science as well as theology."

The resolution also contended that "same-sex sexuality - also expressed in sexual acts - is … not a sin that causes separation from God, and it is not to be judged as intrinsically bad."

Following the vote, delegates spoke for over two hours about the decision. Many expressed frustration with the bishops' votes, saying that they had not listened to their people and that their decision would harm German Catholics and foment division in the Church.

The synodal way's official social media accounts reported that Bishop Georg Bätzing, president of the German bishops' conference, said he was "personally disappointed with this vote" and that "the practice of synodality has not yet gone far enough."

Cardinal Reinhard Marx, former president of the bishops' conference, also said that he was "very disappointed." He said that the bishops must publicly stand by their positions and justify them.

Irme Stetter-Karp, co-president of the synodal way and leader of the lay-run Central Committee of German Catholics, said after the vote that she believed bishops had not expressed their real views during the debate.

"There is one point in which I am particularly disappointed: that there are bishops in this assembly who are not prepared to voice their opinions," she explained.

The lay leader voiced her frustration: "Why do we invest so much energy and time? For our Church. And that's why I'm staying here. Even if I ask myself the question: Who knows whether this is the right investment of time?"

Sources

The Pillar

Katholisch

CathNews New Zealand

Speaking days before the March 9-11 gathering in Frankfurt, the initiative's co-president Irme Stetter-Karp expressed surprise at the German bishops' plan to submit changes to documents that may struggle to gain a two-thirds majority of episcopal votes.

"All delegates, bishops and laity alike, had several weeks to make amendments, and now the deadline has passed," she said in a March 5 report published by Germany's Welt newspaper.

Stetter-Karp, the president of the powerful lay Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), suggested that participants in this week's assembly should decide whether further alterations are permitted before texts are put to the vote.

Read More

In the letter— dated February 23 and published March 1 — Bishop Georg Bätzing writes that the German bishops take the Vatican's "concerns" about a German synodal council seriously.

The message is addressed to Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and to the prefects of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Jesuit Cardinal Luis Ladaria, and the Dicastery for Bishops, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, PSS.

The German bishop tells the cardinals a German "synodal committee" would prepare a synodal council over three years. This move, Bätzing writes, is "a sign that there is still a great need for clarification regarding future synodal cooperation."

Read More

Bishop Georg Bätzing wants Germany's bishops to support the prospect of liturgical blessings for same-sex couples.

The German Catholic news agency KNA says the German bishops' leader's agenda will call for "a common line in favour of blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples" at the bishops' plenary assembly.

The gathering is taking place just days before the final scheduled meeting of Germany's controversial Synodal Way.

The Synodal Way has been a multi-year initiative bringing together bishops and select lay people to discuss far-reaching changes to Church teaching and structures.

Among the documents scheduled for discussion at the 9-11 March synodal assembly is a paper advocating same-sex blessings.

The paper defies a Vatican declaration in 2021 that "the Church does not have, and cannot have, the power to bless unions of persons of the same sex".

Nonetheless, the document - "Blessing ceremonies for couples who love each other" - is due to have its second reading at next month's meeting in Frankfurt.

It could them be formally adopted as a Synodal Way resolution.

Bätzing has previously expressed support for same-sex blessings. He has said publicly that he intends to seek a united front on the issue at the bishops' Dresden meeting, however.

A press release announcing the plenary meeting noted that the 65 members of the German bishops' conference will discuss "the current issues of the synodal way, especially with a view to the fifth and thus last synodal assembly".

It doesn't mention any specific topics though.

Several German bishops have publicly backed same-sex blessings, while others s have expressed opposition.

If German media reports are accurate, Bätzing may be seeking to avoid a repeat of the scenes at the last synodal assembly in September.

That prompted protests when the bishops unexpectedly failed to pass a text calling for a change in the Church's approach to sexual ethics.

KNA claims the March synodal assembly will address a potentially "even more controversial" document on gender issues.

The text, "Dealing with gender diversity," will also have its second reading in March.

The draft document condemns the "wilful negative politicisation of intersex and transgender persons in the Church and in society".

It also says "all ordained ministries and pastoral vocations in the Church should be open to the intersex and transgender baptised and confirmed who sense a calling for themselves."

Source

• The Pillar

Until now, employees of Catholic institutions in Germany could lose their jobs if they were openly in a same-sex partnership or remarried after a divorce.

The change means no one need fear dismissal for those reasons.

Before the change can come into force, however, each of Germany's 27 dioceses must write the measure into their labour laws. That may take take a few months.

The country's various Catholic institutions employ 800,000 employees.

"Explicitly, as never before, diversity in church institutions is recognised as an enrichment," the DBK says.

"All employees can, independently of their concrete duties, their origin, their religion, their age, their disability, their sex, their sexual identity and their way of life," be representatives of a church that "serves people".

"So long as they bring a positive attitude and openness toward the message of the Gospel [and] respect the Christian character of the institution," it said when announcing the change in labour law.

A two-thirds majority of the DBK supported the amendment. The change agreed last Tuesday, came almost a year after 125 Church employees in Germany came out as queer together, in a protest to end discrimination.

The Central Committee of German Catholics said the move was "overdue," while the German Catholic Women's Community described the reform as a "milestone".

Christian Weisner from the advocacy group "We Are Church" welcomed the move but noted that it was "probably also due to the staff shortage".

No way!

Not everyone's happy with the labour rule changes.

Thomas Schüller, an expert on canon law, says the decision was "driven by the state labour courts", which have for a long time taken precedence in questions of Church labour law with regard to personal lifestyle.

Father Nelson Medina, a Dominican priest who holds a doctorate in fundamental theology, has harshly criticised DBK president Bishop Georg Bätzing, who supports the gay agenda.

Medina says Bätzing's pro-gay stance "is yet another belch of modernist heresy, which, like all great heresies, never really dies out completely".

(Synodal Way champion Bätzing says he will not prevent the blessing of homosexual couples, something that occurred en masse in May of this year despite the explicit prohibition of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.)

Father Juan Manuel Góngora, a Spanish priest who has more than 56,000 followers on Twitter, also disapproves of the change.

"Sin cannot be blessed," he says.

"The bishop should go back to the seminary to study or go over to the Protestant Deformation and stop annoying people."

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• DW
• La Croix

Summarising the German position, the head of the German bishops' conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, said the German church would not make decisions that were the Vatican's to make.

"We are Catholic," Bätzing said at a news conference. "but we want to be Catholic in a different way."

Bätzing's statement comes at the close of the German bishops' ad limina visit to Rome. During the visit, they had face time with the pope and met various Vatican departments to provide an update on local church affairs.

As part of the meetings, the 62 German bishops who participated met with various Vatican departments and had a private meeting with Pope Francis.

They also had what was described as an "open" and "frank" discussion on concerns regarding their "Synodal Path" with several Vatican department heads.

In that meeting, Vatican officials suggested issuing a "moratorium" on the Synodal Path process. However, that proposal was not accepted.

The church hierarchy in Germany and the country's influential lay Catholic group launched the reforms after a 2018 report. They found that thousands of abuse crimes were systematically covered up by German church leaders.

Preliminary assemblies of the reform process have sought to address how power and authority are exercised in the church.

During these meetings, lay representatives and German bishops have approved calls to allow blessings for same-sex couples, married priests and the ordination of women as deacons. However, the proposals must be debated further and approved for them to be enacted.

Bätzing assured the Vatican that the German church would "not make any decisions that would only be possible in the context of the universal church," such as changes to the church's core doctrine.

"However, the church in Germany wants to and must provide answers to the questions being asked by the faithful," he said.

The main lay Catholic group involved in the reforms, the Central Committee of German Catholics, said the meeting made it clear that the German church was right to pursue the dialogue in Germany because "it is not a solution to see the responsibility for the reform process solely in Rome".

The president of the group, Irme Stetter-Karp, took issue with the joint statement issued by the Vatican and German bishops, which urged the faithful to be patient.

A "patient people of God" no longer exists, she said.

Sources

• Reuters
• CruxNow
• SCNOW

Bishop Georg Bätzing (pictured) said, "After only one year, this Synodal Process has generated a dynamic that has led to a new understanding of the dignity of all the baptised, to a broader co-responsibility of the faithful for the mission of the Church, and to a clearer perception of the challenges we face in the worldwide Church.

"Thus, the Synodal Process has already changed the Church."

Bätzing, the Bishop of Limburg, is the co-president of Germany's controversial "synodal way": a multi-year gathering of bishops and laypeople to discuss four main topics: power, the priesthood, women in the Church, and sexuality.

Bishop Bätzing also welcomed the publication of a new Vatican document guiding the synod on synodality's continental phase. The document incorporated the wishes and experiences of many local churches.

He said the new Vatican text "makes it clear that the synodal way of the Church in Germany is to be understood as part of a synodal dynamic that has taken hold of the entire Church."

"The issues we deal with in the four forums and at the synodal assemblies are also being discussed in other parts of the Church," he commented.

Bätzing added: "The working document can therefore also be read as an encouragement to the Church in Germany to seek dialogue with the other particular churches even more strongly than before, especially with regard to synodality. It is an invitation to listen to one another on the worldwide synodal journey and to walk the next stage together."

According to the bishop, in many parts of the Church an active role for women in leadership structures, their ministry and a women's diaconate are advocated.

The document expressly refers to the situation of LGBTQ people and people in same-sex partnerships. "The issues that we deal with at the synodal assemblies are also discussed in other parts of the church," said Bätzing.

Germany's bishops are preparing for an ad limina visit to Rome in November. It will be their first in seven years and include a meeting with Pope Francis and prefects of Vatican dicasteries scheduled for 18 November.

Cardinal Mario Grech, the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, has lamented public criticism of the synodal way by bishops outside Germany.

"I have trust in the Catholic Church in Germany, in the bishops, I trust they know what they are doing," Grech said earlier this year.

Sources

The Pillar

News in Germany

Bätzing had demanded an apology from the Vatican's Koch (pictured) over comments that brought up Germany's Nazi past.

He lamented what he called Koch's "untenable statements" about the German "synodal way".

Koch, charged with promoting Christian unity, is reported to have compared the German bishops' Synodal Path process with a mistaken Christian ideology that underpinned the rise of Nazism.

In an interview with the Catholic weekly "Die Tagespost," Koch said that he was shocked that the German Synodal Way was talking about new sources of revelation.

"This phenomenon already existed during the National Socialist dictatorship, when the so-called ‘German Christians' saw God's new revelation in blood and soil and in the rise of Hitler," Koch said.

At the end of the German bishops' plenary assembly on September 29, Bätzing said that, with his remarks, Koch had "disqualified himself from the theological debate" about the Synodal Path.

"If a public apology does not happen immediately, I will file an official complaint with the Holy Father," Bätzing said.

That evening, Koch published a statement rejecting the accusations. He said he had in no way compared the Synodal Path reform project with Nazi ideology, "and I will never do so".

Koch said he has been misunderstood: "I simply assumed that we can still learn from history today, even from a very difficult period. As the vehement reaction of Bishop Bätzing and others show, I have to realise in retrospect that I failed in this attempt. And I also have to realise that memories of phenomena in the National Socialist period are obviously taboo in Germany."

The following day, Bishop Bätzing intensified his criticism. He said he could not accept the cardinal's response "since Cardinal Koch, in essence, does not apologise for the indefensible statements, but — on the contrary — aggravates them".

Bätzing added he still expects a "clear dissociation from these statements."

Bätzing said the cardinal must have "consciously chosen" the comparison to the Nazi era, thus placing the participants of the Synodal Path "in the horizon of the regime that brought unimaginable suffering, especially to the Jewish people".

Following demands for an apology and a threat he might "file an official complaint with the Holy Father," the German Bishops' Conference president met with a Vatican cardinal in Rome this week.

Sources

National Catholic Reporter

Catholic Review

Some forms of continuity people seek from religion are "frankly suspect," the president of the German Catholic Bishops' Conference asserts.

Bätzing made the comments during the bishops' plenary assembly in a live-streamed Mass on Tuesday.

In his homily he said "all too surely asserted continuities, ... according to the motto ‘that has always been so; that has always been believed so; what was wrong yesterday cannot be right today' ... are frankly suspect".

The "great images in which God's people spelled out their historical experiences with faith and recognised God's guidance in them," he said.

It is indeed "in our human nature to seek bridges between yesterday and tomorrow, to draw temporal lines and discover meaningful connections — which is often only possible in retrospect," he explained.

"We seek continuity. But the shortest definition of religion is and remains ‘interruption,' as Johann Baptist Metz put it."

Metz was an influential German priest and theologian who died in 2019.

The German bishops' plenary meeting has been overshadowed by two events. One is the recent turbulent meeting of the Synodal Way. The other is the abuse report in the Osnabrück diocese.

The report includes strongly incriminating statements about Bishop Franz-Josef Bode.

Bode has refused to resign, although a report published last week says he mishandled abuse cases.

He has been vice president of the German bishops' conference since 2017 and is the vice president of the German Synodal Way.

Bode has publicly supported women deacons and the idea of developing a Church ceremony for blessing same-sex unions.

At the latest meeting of the Synodal Way, participants voted to change the Church's teaching on a number of related topics, including homosexuality and the ordination of women.

Source

• Catholic News Agency

The country's bishops initiated the "Der Synodale Weg" in 2019 in the wake of a damning report that showed the vast extent of the clergy sex abuse crisis. The aim of the Synodal Way has been to restore trust among the Catholic people in Germany.

Last Saturday, the Synodal Path delegates meeting in Frankfurt voted to create an "advisory and decision-making body," known as the synodal council. They will "advise on major developments in the Church and in society".

It will also "take fundamental decisions of supra-diocesan significance on pastoral planning, future perspectives and budgetary issues of the Church that are not decided at the level of the dioceses".

However, the Vatican declaration in July states the synodal way has no power "to compel the bishops and the faithful to adopt new ways of governance and new approaches to doctrine and morals.

"Prior to an agreed understanding at the level of the universal Church, it would not be permissible to initiate new official structures or doctrines in the dioceses, which would represent a wound to ecclesial communion and a threat to the unity of the Church," it said.

The three-day meeting was due to discuss 14 texts, with nine to have their second reading. But only eight texts were considered, with four passing their second reading.

On the first day of the assembly, meetings were suspended due to protests and walkouts. The voting proposal for the Pope to open a discussion for changes to Catholic sexual ethics failed to achieve a two-thirds majority of the bishops.

The text was approved by 88% of the synod assembly, but by only 61% of the bishops who were present.

The proposed document called for revising Catholic teaching on issues such as contraception, same-sex partnerships and gender identity.

Meetings were suspended while bishops and lay delegates attended separate crisis meetings. The incident raised doubts of some bishops to participate in the reform process.

Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, the president of the bishops' conference, and the leadership of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) - called what happened a "crisis".

Read more at: https://international.la-croix.com/news/religion/germanys-synodal-path-hits-a-bump-in-the-road/16583

"The problem is not the result of the vote, but the lack of visibility of those opposed," said Bishop Bätzing.

"We had no warning of this disaster," lamented Mirjam Gräve, a laywoman and member of the forum that prepared the text.

"There were no proposals from the opponents to change the text. This is systematic blocking in a process that is supposed to be synodal," she said.

The texts that were passed will be presented to the pope by German bishops in the November "ad limina" visit.

Smaller meetings will be held to discuss the synodal forums, the priesthood, women in the Church and sexuality before meeting again in Frankfurt on March 9-11 for final votes on the initiative's remaining documents.

Sources

Pillar

La Croix International

CathNews New Zealand

The vote took place on the second day of the plenary session. The document "Women in ministries and offices in the Church" was facing its second reading.

The text does not call directly for the ordination of women as deacons and priests but says "for generations, many women have known that they were called by God to be deaconesses or priestesses".

The document proposes that "in future, it should no longer be gender that decides on the allocation of ministries, but the vocation, abilities and skills that serve the proclamation of the Gospel in our time.

"It is not participation by women in all the Church's ministries and offices that requires justification, but indeed the exclusion of women from the sacramental ministry," the document says.

The Pillar, a catholic publication, reports that of a total of 205 votes, 182 voted in favour and 16 against, with 7 abstentions.

Adoption of the document required a two-thirds majority of the German bishops, 45 of whom voted in favour and 10 against. There were 5 abstentions.

Proponents of the document repeatedly addressed the synodal way's minority, urging them to voice their objections and trying to anticipate their concerns.

Procedures were altered with votes no longer cast anonymously but by name.

The Pillar also reports participants standing and applauding the announcement.

The result was a surprise change.

On Thursday, a minority of Germany's Catholic bishops blocked a measure calling on Pope Francis to liberalise church teaching on sexuality.

After the Thursday voting figures were released, there was a protest and some participants left the meeting.

Bishop Georg Bätzing (pictured), chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, told the assembly that the vote was a huge disappointment. He added that the outcome had created a "crisis-like atmosphere" in the meeting.

Bätzing called on all members to accept the result.

The statement on sexual ethics called for removing traditional prohibitions against contraception, homosexual acts and masturbation and for permitting the blessing of same-sex unions.

"The teaching that regards sexual intercourse as ethically legitimate only within the framework of a legal marriage and only in the constant openness to the procreation of offspring has led to a far-reaching rupture between the Magisterium and the faithful," the statement said, referring to the church's teaching authority.

Sources

• Wall Street Journal
• Catholic Culture
• The Pillar

The Vatican said Germany's synodal path is a threat to church unity at a universal level. The Holy See stressed that the undertaking lacks the authority to compel bishops to make changes on doctrine and morality.

"In order to protect the freedom of the People of God and the exercise of episcopal ministry, it seems necessary to specify that the ‘Synodal Way' in Germany has no power to oblige the bishops and the faithful to adopt new ways of governing and new approaches to doctrine and morals," the Vatican said in an unsigned July 21 statement.

"It would not be lawful," the Vatican said, "to initiate in dioceses, before an agreement reached at the level of the universal Church, new official structures or doctrines which would represent a wound to ecclesial communion and a threat to the unity of the Church."

In response, the leadership of the synodal path - laywoman Irme Stetter-Karp, President of the Central Committee of German Catholics, and Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg (pictured), President of the German Bishops' Conference - said the Vatican's statement was "a source of astonishment for us".

Regular communication with the Holy See "which we consider necessary and which we are looking for" was provided for in the rules of procedure and statutes of the synodal path, they said. They added that the Vatican's envoy to Germany, Croatian Archbishop Nikola Eterović, is also participating as an observer.

Since it began in 2019, the organising synodal committee "has endeavoured to find direct ways of communication with the Roman bodies," Stetter-Karp and Bätzing said.

"Unfortunately, the synodal committee has not been invited to a discussion to date. We regret with irritation that this direct communication has not yet taken place" they said.

The Vatican's statement, issued without any prior communication with the synodal path's leading committee, "is not a good example of communication within the church" they said, and took issue with the fact that the Vatican's statement was "not signed by name".

The German Church's synodal path is primarily aimed at giving laypeople more prominent roles in church leadership. It was launched to revitalise the Catholic Church in Germany following a report released in 2018 detailing thousands of cases of sexual abuse by priests in Germany spanning six decades.

However, the process has become increasingly controversial due to the calls of prominent participants, laypeople and bishops alike, for women to be ordained priests and for priests to administer blessings to same-sex couples.

The German Catholic leaders pointed out that they welcomed the Holy See's emphasis of "what we have already committed to in the Statutes and Rules of Procedure before the start of the Synodal Path".

"We never tire of underlining that the Church in Germany will not follow a 'special German path'. Nevertheless, we see it as our duty to clearly state where we believe changes are necessary," they said.

Sources

CruxNow

La Croix International

The pope recalled his remark to Bishop Georg Bätzing, chairman of the German bishops' conference, during a conversation with the editors of Jesuit journals.

The dialogue, which also touched on the war in Ukraine and opposition to Vatican II, was published in La Civiltà Cattolica on June 14 but was conducted on May 19.

The pope was asked what he thought of the German "Synodal Way," a controversial multi-year gathering of bishops and lay people to discuss four main topics: the way power is exercised in the Church, the priesthood, the role of women and sexual morality.

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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