- Feb 5, 2002
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Four German bishops have confirmed they will not take part in a proposed new national synodal body.
Seats are set ahead of the fourth plenary meeting of Germany’s synodal committee, held May 9-10 in Magdeburg. © Deutsche Bischofskonferenz/Ewelina Sowa.
Die Tagespost newspaper reported that in a May 19 letter to organizers of the interim synodal committee, the quartet of bishops signaled their intention not to take up their seats on the new synodal body, scheduled to be launched in 2026 and include all 27 German diocesan bishops.
The four bishops’ absence will likely undermine efforts to present the future body as fully representative of the Catholic Church in Germany.
A minority breaks ranks
Cologne’s Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, Eichstätt’s Bishop Gregor Maria Hanke, Passau’s Bishop Stefan Oster, and Regensburg’s Rudolf Voderholzer took part in the 2019-2023 synodal way, which brought together Germany’s bishops and select lay people at five assemblies.
The four bishops were seen as belonging to a conservative minority that opposed synodal way resolutions calling for significant changes to Catholic teaching and practice.
The initiative, launched against the backdrop of an abuse crisis, produced 150 pages of resolutions, appealing for women deacons, a re-examination of priestly celibacy, lay preaching at Masses, a bigger lay role in selecting bishops, and a revision of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on homosexuality.
One of the most contentious resolutions, approved in September 2022, called for the establishment of a permanent “advisory and decision-making body,” composed of bishops and hand-picked lay people, and known as the synodal council.
The resolution said the new body would “take fundamental decisions of supradiocesan significance on pastoral planning, future perspectives of the Church, and financial and budgetary matters of the Church that are not decided at diocesan level.”
Continued below.
www.pillarcatholic.com
Seats are set ahead of the fourth plenary meeting of Germany’s synodal committee, held May 9-10 in Magdeburg. © Deutsche Bischofskonferenz/Ewelina Sowa.
Die Tagespost newspaper reported that in a May 19 letter to organizers of the interim synodal committee, the quartet of bishops signaled their intention not to take up their seats on the new synodal body, scheduled to be launched in 2026 and include all 27 German diocesan bishops.
The four bishops’ absence will likely undermine efforts to present the future body as fully representative of the Catholic Church in Germany.
A minority breaks ranks
Cologne’s Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, Eichstätt’s Bishop Gregor Maria Hanke, Passau’s Bishop Stefan Oster, and Regensburg’s Rudolf Voderholzer took part in the 2019-2023 synodal way, which brought together Germany’s bishops and select lay people at five assemblies.The four bishops were seen as belonging to a conservative minority that opposed synodal way resolutions calling for significant changes to Catholic teaching and practice.
The initiative, launched against the backdrop of an abuse crisis, produced 150 pages of resolutions, appealing for women deacons, a re-examination of priestly celibacy, lay preaching at Masses, a bigger lay role in selecting bishops, and a revision of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on homosexuality.
One of the most contentious resolutions, approved in September 2022, called for the establishment of a permanent “advisory and decision-making body,” composed of bishops and hand-picked lay people, and known as the synodal council.
The resolution said the new body would “take fundamental decisions of supradiocesan significance on pastoral planning, future perspectives of the Church, and financial and budgetary matters of the Church that are not decided at diocesan level.”
Continued below.
4 German bishops opt out of national synodal body
Four German bishops have confirmed they will not take part in a proposed new national synodal body.
www.pillarcatholic.com
