The worldwide synodal processes are, some say, also the result of the persistence of the international reform movement We Are Church. What is on the agenda now?
by Christian Weisner
It all began in spring 1995, when after the abuse scandal surrounding the Viennese Cardinal Hans Hermann Groër ‘We Are Church’ was launched as a church referendum was launched. The reform demands were signed by more than 500,000 people in Austria alone.
And they remain the central reform issues on the agenda of the Synodal Way in Germany and the World Synod in Rome. It has taken a long time, much too long for those affected. But it is an achievement for the people of the church that the reform issues of participation, women's ministries, celibacy and sexual teaching are finally being openly discussed. Thank you, Austria! The spark quickly spread to Germany, although there was no comparable scandal here at the time. It was the initiative Church from below and the readers' initiative Publik-Forum, supported by the publisher and editorial team, that collected more than 1.8 million signatures for the Church Referendum. Cases of sexualised violence were still treated as isolated cases and dismissed. There was no mention of spiritual or other forms of abuse of power. At the time, we were not yet fully aware of the extent to which all this had already taken hold of and undermined the church system.
From desire to movement
In any case, the eight-week period of collecting signatures in Germany was marked by controversial discussions everywhere. In 16 of the 27 German dioceses, the collection of signatures on church property was prohibited. Dieter Grohmann († 2006) of the Leserinitiative and Eva-Maria Kiklas († 2023) of the initiative Church from below and I were to give a face to the campaign, which still had to manage without today's ‘social media’. At the opening press conference near Cologne Cathedral, the much better-known persons Hans Küng, Magdalene Bußmann and Ferdinand Kerstiens were present. And there were an infinite number of committed people throughout Germany who made the Church Referendum a success in Germany. At this point, it is certainly also important to remember Harald Pawlowski, the then editor-in-chief of Publik-Forum, with great gratitude. The then prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, tried repeatedly to intervene against the reform movement with secret letters. In 1996, one such letter to all German-speaking bishops stated that they should ‘continue to follow the development of these groups closely (...) and possibly also take precautions (...) so that the faithful – and especially the priests – do not actively participate in them.’
We are Church Referendum 1995 in Germany
(c) Gerhard Mester
The troubles of the plain
However, since 1996, We Are Church has been actively involved in all Catholic Church Days with a larger programme and in all Protestant Church Days with a smaller one, together with the readers' initiative. We have published numerous dossiers together. The second half of the 1990s was then marked above all by the dispute with Rome in pregnancy conflict counselling. We Are Church helped to establish the counselling services of Frauenwürde e. V. Regarding the issue of abuse, the big bang for Germany only happened at the beginning of 2010, keyword ‘Canisius College’, when the topic could no longer be kept under the blanket of papal secrecy. Faster than the bishops, We Are Church set up an emergency telephone for those affected and ran it for ten years. The bishops‘ first attempt at responding to the abuse, the “dialogue process” they controlled from 2011 to 2015: a failure. The MHG abuse study published in 2018 on behalf of the German Bishops’ Conference: shocking. Now the German bishops had to approach the Central Committee and invented the ‘Synodal Path’ outside the existing canon law. And it dealt with exactly the topics of the reform catalogue of We Are Church, which the MHG study had identified as systemic risk factors. The fact that the topic of ‘women's offices’ was included is also thanks to the ‘Maria 2.0’ initiative founded during this time. We are Church has, so we are told again and again, prepared the ground for other reform groups such as the ‘Eckiger Tisch’ (a group of representatives from the Catholic Church) or ‘Women Religious for Human Dignity’. To this day, We are Church accompanies the Synodal Path, but without being a member itself.
First rejection, then imitation?
For a long time, Rome viewed the Synodal Path in Germany with great suspicion. But less than two years after its inception, Pope Francis launched the worldwide synodal process with unprecedented participation from the grassroots of the church around the world. At the two assemblies in Rome in 2023 and 2024, women were also entitled to vote for the first time. We Are Church International has been closely following this process from the outset, together with other international reform networks, for example, for the ordination of women. A dynamic and spirit of optimism emerged, the likes of which have perhaps not been seen since the Second Vatican Council. In the feedback from churches around the world, all the problems and reform issues were put on the table unfiltered, including all those of the Church Referendum. But in spring 2024, the Pope's order to outsource topics that were discussed particularly urgently in the first synod assembly to ten study groups was confusing. The synod assembly in the autumn of 2024 should not vote on the admission of women to church offices, priestly training, the role of the bishop, ecumenism and other fundamental issues. Or are these questions really so fundamental that Francis does not want to leave them to the synod, whose members – and this also applies to many clergy – are not up to date with the latest developments in theology?
Synodal rollercoaster ride
The 2024 synod assembly was experienced by many as a synodal rollercoaster ride. Pope Francis' statements at the Catholic University in Belgium a few days earlier, about the image of women and the rigid adherence to a dualistic anthropology, were met with protest, and rightly so. One day before the synod assembly began, various cardinals acknowledged seven diverse failings of the church, including its treatment of women. But a day later, Cardinal Victor Fernández, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, surprised everyone by announcing a new doctrinal document on the role of women in the Church and rejected expectations of the women's diaconate: ‘The time is not yet ripe.’ Then came the unspeakable performance of his dicastery when the work of the ten working groups was to be presented. This highly non-transparent approach, especially in the ‘women's issue’, undermined a great deal of trust, but also rightly triggered strong opposition from the synod members. The continuing discrimination against women shows how much the traditional, male-dominated power structures are being held on to and how much the Church is still burdened by the legacies of the previous popes: ‘Inter Insignores’ (1976), ‘Mulieris dignitatem’ (1988) and ‘Ordinatio Sacerdotalis’ (1994). It is becoming increasingly clear that the worldwide exposure of the spiritual and sexual abuse of power and its cover-up has led the Catholic Church into a deep existential crisis. However, the Roman Catholic Church is also in a constitutional crisis because after the Second Vatican Council, the right of the bishopric was overemphasised and the right of the church people was underemphasised and women's rights are not recognised. The Catholic Church's traditional Christian view of humanity is no longer convincing either. It will not be enough to strengthen the role of women within the existing canon law if only men continue to define the role of women. However, the women in particular, who made up about a seventh of the synod, have at least succeeded in getting the question of the female diaconate left open. Abuse, celibacy and LGBTIQ were only addressed very indirectly.
‘Equality’ by We Are Church: October 12, 2025, Angelus Prayer, St. Peter's Square
Photo: Martha Heizer
Mixed results, but a turning point in church history
By including the grassroots of the church worldwide and giving them voting rights, Pope Francis has made a significant contribution to church history. This is based on the baptismal dignity of all, will have a long-term effect and is irreversible. But even at this second session, it has not yet been possible to resolve the clear contradiction between the early Christian message of the equality of all believers (see photo: ‘Equality’ by We Are Church on St. Peter's Square) and the current, dogmatically entrenched church power structure. After the initially high expectations, it is of course disappointing that no concrete reforms have been decided upon in 2024 either. For the synod members, the two assemblies in Rome were an intensive learning process, which will hopefully also result in a change of mentality. But is this enough to change the entire dogmatised and legalised system of church power? Pope Francis surprised many when he announced that all 155 points of the final document would come into force immediately and that he would dispense with the usual post-synodal letter. However, he also announced his own decisions, without being more specific. Church lawyers are already arguing about whether the final document was only released for publication by the Pope or officially approved. This is wasted time. By deciding against a post-synodal exhortation, Pope Francis has made it clear how urgent its implementation is and that the local churches must now quickly take responsibility. This also applies to the Synodal Path in Germany. The bishops who, for reasons of conscience, have not yet followed this path, no longer have support from Rome and should no longer refuse to embrace the path of reform.
Networking of reform forces
Under the motto: ‘We are moving forward!’ a Church People's Conference of reform forces, organised by We Are Church, took place in Cologne during this year's World Synod. As in 2022, the readers' initiative was once again one of the participating organisations. (Thanks for financing the ads!) On 16 November 2024, the second council assembly ‘With burning impatience’ took place in Stuttgart. And in November 2025, we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of We Are Church, which was launched in 1995 with the help of the readers' initiative. Church reform is a marathon. It requires patience and impatience at the same time. The demands formulated in Austria in 1995 are central to the future and credibility of the Roman Catholic Church. And the ‘women's issue’ remains at the top of the agenda.
Christian Weisner was a co-initiator of the German Church Referendum in 1995, is a member of the federal team and co-founder of the international movement ‘We are Church’
Editorial deadline: October 31, 2024
Translation into English: Colm Holmes
German original text
https://www.wir-sind-kirche.