religion
Catholic Church: Four bishops boycott new body
German Bishops’ Conference: “With the Synodal Committee we are beginning the next phase of the Synodal Path.” photo
© Arne Dedert/dpa
For three and a half years, German Catholics tried to reform their church. One of the main results should be the Synodal Council. But four conservative bishops are boycotting the process.
A new co-determination body Catholic Church, the Synodal Committee, met for the first time in Essen. However, four conservative bishops led by Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki boycotted the two-day working session by staying away.
In March, the German Catholics had initially completed their three and a half year Synodal Path reform process. One of the most important results was that synodality – joint consultation and decision-making – should continue. The Synodal Committee should clarify what this could look like over the next three years. Afterwards, a synodal council should be created in which lay people – non-clergy – have a permanent, equal say. The Vatican has already made it clear that it is critical of such a body. The four bishops who refuse to join the Synodal Committee also refer to this. In addition to Woelki, these are Gregor Maria Hanke from Eichstätt, Stefan Oster from Passau and Rudolf Voderholzer from Regensburg. However, the vast majority of the bishops’ conference is behind it.
“Four objectors are causing incalculable damage to the church”
The members of the Synodal Committee are a total of 27 diocesan bishops, 27 delegates from the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) and 20 people who were elected to the committee. “With the Synodal Committee we are beginning the next phase of the Synodal Path,” said the chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Georg Bätzing.
The reform movement “We are Church” accused the four objectors of causing “unforeseeable damage” to their dioceses and to the entire Catholic Church in Germany. The four bishops would refer to the Vatican, but the world synod in October showed that Rome also relies on synodality. Bätzing and ZdK President Irme Stetter-Karp also emphasized in their speeches on Friday the close connection to the world church and proximity to the world synod, which will be continued next year.
The first meeting of the Synodal Committee took place behind closed doors. The justification was that the members first had to agree on how to proceed in the future. In addition, only questions of statute and rules of procedure would initially be discussed.