STORY: (NOTE: THIS ARTICLE IS WITHOUT SPEAKER TEXT) Georg Bätzing, Chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference: “I have to be honest: I felt a big load off my heart. Because we have reached a major milestone in terms of synodal learning.” // “The synodal path does not lead to a split, nor is it the beginning of a national church. Once again I firmly reject such abstruse assumptions.” // “Yes, Roman periods think longer. But we don’t have too much time on many questions, and that became very clear here at the Synodal Assembly. Because I fully agree, the Catholic Church is in fashion worldwide major crises and needs solutions and openings, as we are sketching them out here. Well, we have always said that we will put our questions into the room of the World Synod. And that is what Pope Francis, thank God, courageously opens. But after that, answers to these questions are also needed. And I wish, that’s the decisive thing, I just said that in the statement, perhaps in a somewhat cryptic way, no bureaucratic answers from some Curia offices, let alone back rooms, which then arise to our questions, but synodal ones processes.” // Franz-Josef Bode, Bishop Diocese of Osnabrück: “Looking back at yesterday, we can be happy and grateful that in future there will also be blessing celebrations for homosexual couples in Germany. And it’s good that in the future civilly married divorced people will also be there “Being able to have their relationship blessed by the Church. I couldn’t have imagined that a few years ago.” // Irme Stetter-Karp, President of the Central Committee of German Catholics: “At this fifth synodal assembly, I clearly noticed again that this church is about to undergo a major change. It will not be able to get past it , if she wants to move into the 21st century. If you take the abuse scandal seriously, you clearly have to work on structural changes. The MHG study of 2018 made it abundantly clear. I deeply regret it, I mean it, I deeply regret it that a small number of bishops in Germany want to prevent this structural change. It is impossible to get to the root of the evil of abuse if hierarchical power prevents it and if transparency is not wanted.”