We are Church at the constituent meeting of the Synodal Committee on 10/11 November 2023 in Essen
- Synodal path in Germany not a special path
- Strengthening the national bishops' conferences
- Vatican must also show willingness to engage in dialogue
Press release Munich, Essen, 8 November 2023
"With the tailwind from the World Synod in Rome, courageously continue the synodal process in Germany!" This is the appeal of the International Movement We Are Church to the participants of the constituent meeting of the Synodal Committee on 10/11 November 2023 in Essen. The preparatory process and the first worldwide Synod Assembly in Rome, which ended a few days ago, have already fundamentally changed the Roman Catholic Church. By opening the synod to baptised men and women who are not bishops, Pope Francis has implemented a system change that cannot and must not be reversed.
The reform process initiated by Pope Francis must now continue in concrete terms at all levels of the universal church: After the 2023 Synod we are now before the 2024 Synod. This window of opportunity must be used to develop concrete answers and proposed solutions to questions of leadership, equal rights for women, the inclusion of minority groups and other issues in terms of theology and canon law.
Synodal path in Germany not a special path
The Synod Assembly in Rome showed once again that the synodal path in Germany was not a special path, but has done important preparatory work for the World Synod. This was recognised by participants from all over the world. On the one hand, it is about making the Catholic Church fit for the future in the respective cultures. On the other hand, it is about combating the systemic causes of abuse and cover-up, which have led our Church into a global crisis of credibility. The opportunity now lies in a transformation process at all levels that can no longer be stopped.
We are Church welcomes the fact that, despite the departure of four bishops (Gregor Maria Hanke, Eichstätt; Stefan Oster, Passau; Rudolf Voderholzer, Regensburg; Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, Cologne), funding has been secured from the other 23 dioceses. Australia is now also planning a Synodal Council, which will be formed from a group that emerged from the consultations at the so-called Plenary Council.
We Are Church is now calling on the four bishops who refused to give their consent to the Synodal Committee and its funding in the summer of 2023 to correct their decision immediately, as the reasons given at the time have become irrelevant. Bishop Bertram Meier of Augsburg will also not be attending the constituent meeting due to a long-planned diocesan pilgrimage to Sankt Peter-Ording (> katholisch.de).
Strengthening the national bishops' conferences
A key question for the future will be what role the bishops and the representatives of the people of the Church will play in the Catholic Church. Genuine participation means: not only consulting, but also co-deciding! Decentralised solutions must be possible here.
The 40-page final paper of the Synod was adopted by a large majority on all points. It does not yet contain sufficiently concrete resolutions on many issues. However, it deals intensively with co-responsibility bodies, which must also be made functional at a legal level, and with the appropriate presence of baptised persons who are not ordained (cf. 12 and 18 final paper). Section 19 g), for example, is very noteworthy:
'We consider it necessary to further deepen the doctrinal and juridical character of Episcopal Conferences by recognising the possibility of collegial action also with regard to doctrinal questions that arise in the local sphere, thus resuming reflection on the motu proprio Apostolos suos.
Bishops' conferences should thus actually be able to decide on questions of doctrine. And elsewhere it is stated that non-ordained men and women must have a say in decision-making in the committees. This means that the synodal path in Germany can also decide independently and does not always have to ask Rome for permission.
We are Church calls on the German bishops to make bold use of this suggestion of the World Synod and to utilise the possibilities open to them under canon law. These include, for example, the transfer of parish leadership to lay people, the ordination of viri probati as priests or the transfer of the preaching ministry to women.
In addition, work must already be done today to ensure that these points are deepened, concretised and formally adopted in the 2024 Synod. This requires the continuation of the synodal process in our country in both depth and breadth, but also international networking, especially in German-speaking countries.
Vatican must also show willingness to engage in dialogue
The new head of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, who has been in office since 11 September 2023, should make good on his announcement to enter into dialogue with those responsible for the Synodal Committee in Germany as soon as possible. The other Vatican dicasteries must also show themselves willing to talk now. This must be done with the entire Presidium, not just with bishops. At the synod in Rome, it was an affront that only five bishops from Germany were allowed to participate with voting rights.
Press contact:
Christian Weisner, Federal Team We are Church Germany
E-mail:
Dr Martin Schockenhoff, We are Church Germany and Coordination Team We are Church International
E-mail:
more: wir-sind-kirche.de/weltsynode2023