Germany's Catholic Bishops' Conference (DBK) Complies with Vatican's New Request to Remove Vote for Synodal Council
The Vatican has asked the German Bishops' Conference (DBK) in a letter to remove a vote from the agenda of its general assembly next week in Augsburg, as reported by Cologne's "Domradio". The letter requests that the General Assembly not vote on the statutes of the Synodal Committee. According to its leader, Bishop Bätzing, this should now be taken off the agenda for the time being. In the past, the Vatican has criticized the German-synodal path several times.
The agenda item for the vote on the Synodal Committee has now actually been removed from the agenda. This was confirmed by the President of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), Irme Stetter-Karp, in a press release. She says “Rome practically asked the German Bishops’ Conference by express mail not to vote on the statutes of the Synodal Council at their spring general assembly and to wait for talks in Rome first. The agenda item has been canceled since yesterday evening.”
In a press release, the “New Beginning” initiative commented on the Vatican’s letter: “The attempt to make the synodal path institutionally permanent has thus reached a final dead end, but the German bishops are also at a standstill Abyss of church division: Crossing this red line set by Rome would be a break with Rome."
Letter:
From the Vatican, February 16, 2024
Dear Chairman of the German Bishops' Conference,
dear fellow bishops,
The general assembly of the German Bishops' Conference (DBK) will take place in Augsburg from February 19th to 22nd, at which the statutes of the Synodal Committee will be voted on. We therefore consider it necessary, in continuation of the dialogue that we have already begun, which we will continue in the near future and which we want to further strengthen, according to Pope Francis' wish, to raise some concerns in this regard and to give some indications have been brought to the attention of the Holy Father and approved by him.
The statutes provide for the first task of the Synodal Committee to be the establishment of a Synodal Council “according to the provisions of the resolution of the Synodal Assembly of the Synodal Path “Sustainably Strengthening Synodality: a Synodal Council for the Catholic Church in Germany”” (Art. 2 § 1). In paragraph 5 of the relevant resolution mentioned, the Synodal Council is defined as an “advisory and decision-making body” that advises “on essential developments in the church and society” and “on this basis makes fundamental decisions of supra-diocesan importance regarding pastoral planning, future issues of the church and financial and budgetary matters of the Church that are not decided at the diocesan level."
Such a body is not provided for by current canon law, and therefore a decision by the DBK in this regard would be invalid - with the corresponding legal consequences. The question also arises with what authority the bishops' conference would approve the statutes. Neither can. 455 CIC and Article 8 of the Statute of the DBK provide a basis for this in this sense; the Holy See has not yet issued a mandate - in fact, it has expressed itself to the contrary. The draft of the statutes also stipulates that “the German Bishops’ Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) assume responsibility for the synodal committee” (Art. 1). Since the DBK cannot act as a legal entity in the secular area, it could only assume such sponsorship for the Synodal Committee through the Association of German Dioceses (VDD). However, the required unanimous decision regarding the Synodal Committee was not reached within the association.
It should be noted that the issue was already presented during the last ad limina visit and subsequently in the letter from the Cardinal Secretary of State and the Prefects of the Dicasteries for the Doctrine of the Faith and for Bishops of January 16, 2023, in which expressly and by special order the Holy Father asked him not to pursue the establishment of such a council.
The approval of the statutes of the Synodal Committee would therefore be in contradiction to the instructions of the Holy See issued on the special commission of the Holy Father and would once again present him with a fait accompli.
In this regard, it was jointly agreed last October to deepen the ecclesiological issues addressed by the Synodal Way, including the issue of a supra-diocesan advisory and decision-making body, at the next meeting between representatives of the Roman Curia and the DBK. If the Statute of the Synodal Committee is adopted before this meeting, the question arises as to the meaning of this meeting and, more generally, of the ongoing dialogue process.
We would like to give you the information expressed here to consider and trust that it will be taken into account in the discussion at the upcoming DBK general meeting.
United in prayer, we remain with brotherly greetings.
Card. Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State
Card. Victor M. Fernandez, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
Card. Robert F. Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops
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