German Catholics conclude their “Synodal Path”

The Catholic Church in Germany has finally completed its highly publicised “Synodal Path” (der Synodale Weg), a project for ecclesial reform that the bishops launched three years ago, together with lay leaders, in response to the county's clergy sex abuse crisis.

Mar 24, 2023

Karl Juesten, director of the Catholic office in Berlin (the body responsible for relations between the German Church and politics), in Berlin on February 13, 2022, during an ecumenical service at St. Mary's Church. (Photo by JENS SCHLUETER/AFP) Read more at: https://international.la-croix.com/news/religion/german-catholics-conclude-their-synodal-path/17443


By Delphine Nerbollier
The Catholic Church in Germany has finally completed its highly publicised “Synodal Path” (der Synodale Weg), a project for ecclesial reform that the bishops launched three years ago, together with lay leaders, in response to the county's clergy sex abuse crisis.

The fifth and final assembly of the Synodal Path was brought to conclusion on a positive note on March 11 in Frankfurt and the sense of relief was palpable.

It is true that the debates were sometimes heated and, more surprisingly, that Bishop Georg Bätzing, president of the German Bishops Conference (DBK), had to warn some of his episcopal confreres not to make any last-minute attempts to block proposals.

But, in the end, almost all the texts presented were approved by the synodal assembly and by two-thirds of the bishops.
More attention to same-sex couples and transgender people

One of the key measures concerns blessings for “committed couples”, whether they are divorced-and-remarried or of the same sex.

Disciplinary sanctions against pastoral workers who organise such celebrations may now be lifted. While the practice is already taking place in some dioceses in Germany and will remain at the discretion of the bishops, it could soon become a reality throughout the country. 81 per cent of the bishops approved this measure.

Another central measure, long applauded by the participants, is that the Catholic Church in Germany says it wants to give more attention to intersex and transsexual people. Following the example of the diocese of Freiburg, a pioneer in this field, it will now be possible to omit the corresponding entry in the baptismal register or to use the word “miscellaneous” for children whose gender identity is unclear. Transgender Catholics will also be able to change their marital status and first names in the baptismal register.

A text in favour of women deacons

The synodal assembly also approved texts that require Pope Francis’ approval. Among other things, the Synodal Path asks him to allow women to preach at Eucharistic celebrations and to re-examine the link between ministerial functions and the obligation of celibacy.

At the end of an emotional final debate on March 11, the participants also approved a text in favour of women deacons and called on the German bishops to push the issue in Rome. The question of ordaining women priests, however, was postponed at the request of some bishops.

“The diaconate for women is long overdue,” said Bishop Gebhard Fürst of Rottenburg-Stuttgart. He cited the Synod of Würzburg, which had requested it already in 1974.

The Pope and some cardinals have been increasingly critical of Germany’s reform process in recent weeks. At one point, Francis even called it “elitist”. But while such criticism hovered over the discussions in Frankfurt, it did not halt the momentum. Thus, the proposal that was approved last September to set up a synodal council, should see the light of day despite Rome’s criticism. The assembly in Frankfurt elected the members of the committee responsible for its creation.

“The Synodal Path has worked. It is not a paper tiger,” said Bishop Bätzing, noting that 15 reform texts were adopted over the last three years. “It leads neither to a division of the Church nor to the creation of a national Church,” he insisted, calling the “headwinds” a “reaction to the spiritual strength” of the process.

“Do not respond in a bureaucratic way”

Others were less enthusiastic.

Irme Stetter Karp, president of the Central Committee of Catholics (ZdK) and the Synodal Path’s co-chair, welcomed a “new culture of dialogue”. But she lamented that “a small group of bishops prevented structural change in the Church”.

The heads of three Bavarian dioceses (Regensburg, Passau and Augsburg), as well as the bishop of Münster and cardinal-archbishop Cologne almost systematically opposed the texts for reform.

Decisions that are directly applicable in the dioceses, such as the blessing of same-sex couples, have yet to be implemented. Those requiring papal approval must now go through a new process and Bishop Bätzing warned that this “will take time”. The DBK president called on Vatican authorities “not to respond in a bureaucratic way”, but through an ”open and synodal process”.

“The issues we have discussed here are not purely German, but are taken up by the universal Church,” he insisted. Bätzing now wants more than ever to bring them before the international gathering of the Synod in Rome. -- LCI (https:// international.la-croix.com/

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