- Feb 5, 2002
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WARSAW, Poland (OSV News) — Tensions have flared between the presidents of the Catholic bishops’ conferences of Germany and Poland over Germany’s reform course, according to a media report.
Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, Germany, has written a letter to his Polish counterpart, Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki of Poznan, accusing him of “unbrotherly behavior” and of an “enormous overstepping of his authority.” The Polish daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita published Bishop Bätzing’s letter, dated Nov. 21, on Nov. 27.
In it, the German bishops’ conference president complained vehemently about Archbishop Gadecki’s letter of protest to Pope Francis against key reform ideas of the “Synodal Path” of the Catholic Church in Germany.
“The Polish bishops’ president had a right to write to the pope, given the synod is all about that — a discussion on the church’s future,” Tomasz Krzyzak, the journalist at Rzeczpospolita who broke the news about the German letter in his paper, told OSV News.
“What is, however, surprising, is the form of making it public — both presidents of the bishops’ conferences were there at the synodal hall for a month and indeed Archbishop Gadecki could just tell his German counterpart about his concerns and that he’s letting the pope know about them,” Krzyzak said. “What apparently made Bishop Bätzing so upset was the form — and publishing Archbishop Gadecki’s letter by the media,” Krzyzak told OSV News.
Continued below.
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Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, Germany, has written a letter to his Polish counterpart, Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki of Poznan, accusing him of “unbrotherly behavior” and of an “enormous overstepping of his authority.” The Polish daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita published Bishop Bätzing’s letter, dated Nov. 21, on Nov. 27.
In it, the German bishops’ conference president complained vehemently about Archbishop Gadecki’s letter of protest to Pope Francis against key reform ideas of the “Synodal Path” of the Catholic Church in Germany.
German bishop denounces ‘false’ Polish claims
In talks during the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican, Archbishop Gadecki did not mention he had written a letter to Pope Francis at the beginning of October criticizing the German Synodal Path, Bishop Bätzing wrote. Instead of engaging in dialogue, the archbishop had decided to make “false claims” to the pope about the German reform path, he continued.“The Polish bishops’ president had a right to write to the pope, given the synod is all about that — a discussion on the church’s future,” Tomasz Krzyzak, the journalist at Rzeczpospolita who broke the news about the German letter in his paper, told OSV News.
“What is, however, surprising, is the form of making it public — both presidents of the bishops’ conferences were there at the synodal hall for a month and indeed Archbishop Gadecki could just tell his German counterpart about his concerns and that he’s letting the pope know about them,” Krzyzak said. “What apparently made Bishop Bätzing so upset was the form — and publishing Archbishop Gadecki’s letter by the media,” Krzyzak told OSV News.
German bishop condemns ‘overstepping’ of authority
Continued below.
German bishop denounces Polish archbishop for letter to pope protesting Germany's Synodal Path
Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, Germany, has written a letter to his Polish counterpart, Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki of Poznan, accusing him of "unbrotherly behavior" and of an "enormous overstepping of his authority." The Polish daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita published Bishop Bätzing's...
www.oursundayvisitor.com
