Pope Francis has rejected the resignation of the Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Cardinal Reinhard Marx. This is what the head of the Catholic Church wrote in a letter published by the Holy See on Thursday.
“That is my answer, dear brother. Carry on as you suggest, but as Archbishop of Munich and Freising,” the Pope wrote in the letter to Marx. And further: “And if you are tempted to think that this Bishop of Rome (your brother who loves you), by confirming your mission and not accepting your resignation, does not understand you, then think of what Peter said I heard the face of the Lord when he offered him his renunciation in his own way: ‘Get away from me, because I am a sinner’ – and the answer heard ‘Pasture my sheep’ https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/. “
Last Friday, Marx announced that he had offered the Pope his resignation on May 21. Francis asked the cardinal to remain in office for the time being and he would make a decision in due course. Both agreed that Marx would publicly announce his decision on June 4th. The news attracted worldwide attention and raised questions.
To the Pope’s letter, which has now arrived, Marx reacted with surprise: “I did not expect that he would react so quickly, and I also made his decision that I should continue my service as Archbishop of Munich and Freising not expected, “he announced in writing that afternoon. He accepts them “in obedience”. At the same time, this decision, which was a “great challenge” for him, also meant that he wanted to consider “which new paths we can go” in order to “contribute even more to the renewal of the Church here in our archdiocese and in general” quote yourself from Marx. “After that, simply going back to the agenda can not be the way for me and also not for the archdiocese.”
In his letter to the Pope, Marx wrote: “In essence, for me it is about sharing responsibility for the catastrophe of sexual abuse by church officials in recent decades.” The investigations and reports of the past ten years consistently showed for him that there had been “a lot of personal failure and administrative errors”, but “also institutional or systemic failure”. Marx is also accused of misconduct in dealing with possible cases of abuse.
“I agree with you that we are dealing with a disaster: the sad history of sexual abuse and the way the Church has dealt with it until recently,” said Francis’ reply. “The entire church is in crisis because of the abuse; even more, the church cannot take a step forward now without accepting this crisis. The ostrich policy does not help.”
ZdK boss Sternberg: Marx enjoys “a very high reputation”
The President of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), Thomas Sternberg, agrees that Marx will now remain in office. “I am – not least with my view of the Synodal Way – glad that Cardinal Marx remains with us as a strong voice,” he said Rheinische Post. The decision from Rome shows “that the alleged dissatisfaction with the Synodal Way in Germany does not correspond to the complex reality”. In addition, the reactions to Marx’s offer showed “that he enjoys a very high reputation and that the seriousness of how he deals with the extremely difficult situation of the Catholic Church in Germany has been greatly appreciated,” said the President of the highest German Catholic lay committee .
The spokesman for the initiative “Eckiger Tisch”, Matthias Katsch, expresses criticism: With this, the Pope takes the force of the resignation of the Archbishop of Munich. With his declaration, the latter aimed at the responsibility of all bishops for a system of abuse and cover-up in the church. “The Pope is now simply moderating this shocking insight and thus also relieving his own office. It is particularly frightening, however, how the Pope tries in his declaration to relativize the responsibility for abuse of power and abuse cover-up by bishops worldwide by pointing out that earlier just ‘other times’ were “, criticized the spokesman for the initiative.
The Catholic reform movement “We are Church” sees the quick response from Rome as “brotherly backing”. The letter is also an invitation to Marx “to continue to use his strength and competence here in his diocese and on the reform course of the Catholic Church in Germany,” said “We are Church” spokesman Christian Weisner. Canon lawyer Thomas Schüller also sees the rejection of the resignation as a call for reforms.
He could “not hide” his relief about the Pope’s decision, said the Bavarian regional bishop and council chairman of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Heinrich Bedford-Strohm. “We need the voice of Cardinal Marx – for ecumenism, for the reform processes of the church and also as the voice of public theology.”