Four German bishops do not want to participate in the Synodal Committee
The bishops of Eichstätt, Cologne, Passau and Regensburg still do not want to participate in the Synodal Committee.
Within the reform dialogue of the Catholic Church in Germany, the bishops of Eichstätt, Cologne, Passau and Regensburg still do not want to participate in the Synodal Committee. Among other things, this committee is to prepare the establishment of a Synodal Council by 2026, in which bishops and laypeople would jointly discuss and decide on important internal church issues in Germany. The Vatican had repeatedly rejected this. In contrast, the Standing Council of the German Bishops' Conference, to which the local bishops of all 27 dioceses belong, approved the statutes at its meeting in Würzburg on Monday.
"In Roman objections to the Synodal Way in Germany, it had previously become clear time and again that a 'Synodal Council', as envisaged and formulated in the resolution of the Synodal Way, was not compatible with the sacramental constitution of the Church," reads a statement by Bishops Gregor Maria Hanke (Eichstätt), Stefan Oster (Passau), Rudolf Voderholzer (Regensburg) and Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki (Cologne). They therefore still do not wish to participate in the Synodal Committee, whose aim is to establish a Synodal Council.
"The four bishops mentioned also do not share the legal opinion that the German Bishops' Conference is the body responsible for the Synodal Committee if four members of the Conference do not support the committee," it says. The four bishops would first wait for the end of the World Synod of Bishops and its outcome in order to then decide "how to take steps towards a more synodal Church in harmony with the universal Church". It is emphasised that the four bishops wanted to continue on the path to a more synodal church in harmony with the universal church.
The statutes for the Synodal Committee had already been adopted by the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), which was also involved, in November. Originally, the bishops were supposed to approve it at their spring plenary assembly in February. Due to a new letter from the Vatican, the item was removed from the agenda. However, at a meeting between representatives of the Bishops' Conference and high-ranking Vatican representatives in March, a premature end to the German reform dialogue was prevented. The Synodal Committee will meet for its second session on 14 and 15 June in Mainz. (Source: Katholische.de)
Image: Bishop Stefan Oster from his Facebook Page
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