News of the move came after a meeting of the bishops' conference 27 member Permanent Council, reports the German Catholic news agency KNA.

The Conference's permanent council says Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg (pictured), would "accept the offer of conversation made by the Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Beniamino Stella" to discuss the new instruction about parishes.

The Conference says Bätzing "will suggest to the Congregation that the conversation be conducted with the Presidium of the Synodal Way, since bishops, priests, deacons and laity are equally addressed in the instruction."

This means Bätzing will be accompanied by laity representing the "Synodal Process" underway in Germany.

After several German bishops criticized the instruction, which stresses the canon law that only priests can direct the pastoral care of parishes, Cardinal Beniamino Stella, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, said he would be happy to receive them to "remove doubts and perplexity."

At that time he said the meeting could take place "in due course" if the bishops wished to present their objections to the new instruction about parishes, which the Congregation issued on 20 July.

Some commentators see the instruction as a response to plans drastically to reduce the number of parishes in German dioceses.

The Vatican recently blocked a plan by the German Diocese of Trier to turn 800 parishes into 35. The Archdiocese of Freiburg is continuing to press ahead with plans to reduce its 1,000 parishes to 40.

Stella says "care must be taken not to reduce the parish to the rank of ‘branch' of a ‘company' - in this case, the diocese - with the consequence that it can be ‘directed' by anyone, perhaps even by groups of ‘officials' with different skills."

The instruction encourages parishes to see themselves above all as a "missionary community," he says.

There has been a mixed reaction from the German prelates about the new instruction.

While several bishops have concerns about it, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne and Bishop Gregor Maria Hanke of Eichstätt expressed their gratitude for the text.

Cardinal Walter Kasper is defending the Vatican intervention, saying: "The German criticism completely misses the actual concern of the instruction: the pastoral conversion to a missionary footing."

"But precisely this basic concern of Pope Francis would be highly topical in view of the disturbing recently published numbers of departures from the Church."

Kasper was referring to statistics issued last month which showed that a record number of Catholics left the Church in Germany in 2019.

A date for the meeting between the Vatican and the German bishops and their party has not yet been made.

Source

• Catholic News Agency

According to official figures released Monday, the German Church received 6.76 billion euros ($7.75 billion) in 2019.

This represents a increase of more than 100 million euros ($115 million) compared to 2018, when the Church gained 6.64 billion euros from the tax. The rise is believed to be due to the growth of Germany's economy in 2019. Read more

Marianne Schlosser, who is a professor of theology at the University of Vienna, says she is concerned about the path's approach and methodology.

She was invited to contribute to the discussions after the conference had held two preparatory meetings.

Her expertise was sought for the Synodal Way's forum "on women in ecclesial roles and offices".

However, she says she can't identify with a number of issues in an intermediate report produced by the Synodal Way's preparatory group.

These include a "fixation on ordination" of women.

This "fixation" was neither theologically and historically nor pastorally and spiritually justified, she says.

The Catholic Church teaches that it has no authority to admit women to priestly ordination.

Schlosser says as this topic is not about discipline, it cannot be "negotiated in a synodal forum with mixed members" - that is, between bishops and laity.

She also expressed the fear of a progressive polarization of the church in Germany.

Pope Francis appointed Schlosser as a member of the International Theological Commission in 2014. She was also appointed a member of the study commission investigating the female diaconate in 2016.

She is an advisor to the Faith Commission of the German bishops' conference and since January 2018 a member of the Theological Commission of the Austrian bishops' conference.

Schlosser was the Ratzinger Prize recipient in 2018.

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Image: Fondazione Ratzinger