Bishops’ Conference in Fulda: Agree to disagree

Georg Bätzing does not have an easy job. As chairman of the bishops’ conference, he fights for the reform process of the synodal path – against resistance from Rome and from within his own ranks.

Georg Bätzing has been chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference for two and a half years. And for the past three weeks, the general public has also known what he has to reconcile in this function, how deep the rifts are between the reform-oriented majority of bishops and a conservative minority.

During the synodal path reform process, a paper on sexual morality failed due to resistance from conservative bishops. The autumn general meeting in Fulda was under the impression of this scandal. It has managed to maintain the unity of the conference without its chairman giving up his reform position. Bätzing clearly cannot be slowed down.

In Fulda we seem to have succeeded in making it clear to the last bishop that the synodal path must not fail under any circumstances. It would irreparably damage the relationship between bishops and lay people, after all the bishops themselves had invited this reform process.

Bätzing fights for the synodal path …

Bätzing stands by his convictions – also towards Rome. When the Swiss curia cardinal Kurt Koch, who was in office in Rome, formulated parallels between the synodal path and the “German Christians” – a racist and anti-Semitic group in the Protestant church during the Nazi era – in an interview, Bätzing reacted sharply. The cardinal must immediately apologize for this “unacceptable lapse”, otherwise he will file an official complaint with the Pope.

Bätzing has made the synodal path his own and passionately defends it. He sees it as a necessary and overdue step in an “inculturation” of faith in this time. Dealing with women in the church, sexual morality, the uncontrolled clerical power have grown into obstacles that threaten the existence of the Catholic Church. Anyone who suppresses the love and freedom of people cannot speak credibly of a loving God who has “called people to freedom”.

… also against resistance from Rome

With this basic conviction, Bishop Bätzing counters the disruptive maneuvers with which the Vatican wants to derail the synodal path. When Rome expressly forbade the blessing of homosexuals in March 2021, Bishop Bätzing declared: “A document that so blatantly rejects a theological and human scientific advance in knowledge in its argumentation will lead to pastoral practice going over it.”

When in July 2022 an official but senderless letter from the Vatican dismissed the synodal path, Bätzing, together with President Irme Stetter-Karp, countered: “It does not show a good style of communication within the church if declarations are not published by name.”

The conservative minority in their own ranks tries to integrate Bätzing without giving up his position. The fact that he gave the minority positions a say and organized time for exchange made a significant contribution to pacifying the camps in Fulda. Conflicts should not be swept under the table.

In this respect, it is progress that at the end of the day there is an explicit “consensus” that “we have a dissent”. Bätzing sees it as a joint responsibility of the bishops to treat each other with respect. Every bishop can consider for himself where he can approach others: “Just saying no is not enough.”

Same worries all over the world

Roman circles, including Pope Francis, view the German synodal path with a mixture of skepticism and fear. There is concern that the reform impulses from Germany will spread to a conflagration.

The Pope has called his own synodal process and called on bishops worldwide to ask the faithful about the need for reform. The feedback shows that the central themes are identical to the reform concerns of the synodal path. The argument that was widespread in Rome that the Germans were taking a “special national path” with their issues collapsed as a result.

Results should not be sent to Rome

Bätzing therefore hopes that the preliminary work on the synodal path, such as the argumentation papers on the consecration of women and also the rejected text for a renewed sexual morality, could inspire the synodal process on a world level.

That is why he is making specific demands for the forthcoming, scheduled “ad limina visit” of the German bishops in Rome in November. In numerous discussions with the Pope and the heads of the central Curia authorities, the bishops are to present the results of the synodal path so far. Bätzing urges that these presentations, which were prepared in detail in Fulda, be recorded within the church and communicated in a binding manner. They should not simply be filed away or “filed in a drawer”.

Lack of networking in Rome is the weak point

The communication to Rome is one of the weaknesses of the synodal path, it is also Bätzing’s weakness. Unlike other top clerics, he didn’t study in Rome, doesn’t speak Italian and has hardly any confidential contacts at headquarters. And the Presidium of the Synodal Path has not yet been admitted to Rome by the Pope, despite urgent requests from Bätzing.

It remains to be seen whether the reform process will succeed

It remains questionable whether the struggle of the Bishop of Limburg and the majority of his confreres for reforms in the Catholic Church will be successful. In its own way, the church also reflects the illiberal and anti-democratic tendencies that are currently growing politically and socially. Within the Church, too, the struggle rages on over the great basic questions of living together. The authoritarian model, which is politically on the rise, is already in the genes of the church and is thereby partially revitalized.

Bätzing will have to reckon with and live with conservative bishops who believe they are on the side of right doctrine and Rome as long as he leads the bishops’ conference. He has the necessary fighting qualities.