German Bishop asks for queer couples or couples who have remarried and divorced or couples who don't want to marry in Church to ask for blessing

From the baptism to the sermon to the blessing ceremony

View of the Fifth Synodal Assembly in Frankfurt

Practical consequences of the synodal path for the Diocese of Osnabrück

New blessing celebrations for couples, baptisms also by non-clerics and women and men who preach in the service: These are three of the concrete consequences that the resolutions of the synodal path of the Catholic Church in Germany will have for the Diocese of Osnabrück. Other resolutions of the process at the federal level, which was concluded last weekend with the Fifth Synodal Assembly, are also to be implemented promptly in the diocese of Osnabrück. The diocese leadership around Bishop Franz-Josef Bode decided this Tuesday (March 14) after reflecting on the results of the weekend.

"The resolutions of the last synodal assemblies, which were supported by an overwhelming majority of bishops and lay people, give us the tailwind that we need for concrete changes in our diocese," says Osnabrück Bishop Franz-Josef Bode, who, as deputy chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, is also a member of the presidium of the synodal assembly way at the federal level. "Encouraged by various statements by Pope Francis, we have already prepared some things here with the broad participation of our diocese committees in recent years, parallel to the events at federal level on our own path under the motto 'synod_os - going further together'. 

(synod_os = synod_Osnabrück- )

I would like to thank everyone who was involved in various working groups on the subjects of power, women, sexuality and priestly life and who did important preparatory work.”

More information on the Synodal Path in the Diocese of Osnabrück and at the Federal level is available on this page.

"Thanks to this preparatory work, I can encourage all couples in our diocese who cannot or do not want to get married in a church, but still want their relationship to be blessed by the church, to contact us," said Bishop Bode. In some parishes of the Diocese there are already corresponding blessing ceremonies. For example, queer couples or couples who have remarried and divorced could contact the local pastoral workers, but otherwise also contact the Diocese directly. In order to give structural expression to the church's recognition of gender diversity, a new office for queer pastoral work was recently set up in the Diocese.

The diocese is also to implement the plan to allow non-ordained women and men to undertake infant baptism in the future. Bishop Bode: “In the next few months we will enable a first group of full-time and honorary lay people from different places in our diocese to gain practical experience in this important pastoral field. I will put a provisional order into force in the next few days, which regulates both further and advanced training as well as the work for lay people who have been commissioned to do so a corresponding diocesan arrangement to be developed.

Another subject area of the synodal path, the Church's handling of power, has also already been dealt with in various ways in the diocese of Osnabrück. In 2020, for example, the diocese published new guidelines and recommendations that those responsible at all church levels should take to heart in their own work (see https://bistum-osnabrueck.de/ueber-macht-muss-man-reden). The various committees of the diocese and the diocesan process of a "Church of Participation" have been and are being strengthened and further developed. "And the next time a bishop is elected for our diocese, more people should be involved than was the case in the past," said Bishop Bode. Corresponding models of how this can be done already exist in other (arch)dioceses such as Paderborn and Rottenburg-Stuttgart.

The representatives of the profession in the diocese are also currently dealing with the "liveability and comprehensibility of the priesthood" - a separate working paper was created for this as part of the "synod_os". "At the same time, we strongly support the question of compulsory celibacy for priests being reconsidered," said Bishop Bode. However, this debate, as well as the important question of ministries and ministries for women in the church, must be continued with Rome and the whole universal church.

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The beginnings of the Synodal Path are in Lingen

The beginnings of the Synodal Path can be traced back to the 2019 spring conference of the German Bishops' Conference in Lingen. At that time, the bishops discussed the consequences of the so-called MHG study, which had shown the structural reasons for sexual abuse by priests and deacons in the Catholic Church. The Synodal Path was intended as a "path of conversion and renewal". In terms of content, there were four topics on which forums were formed: "Power and separation of powers in the church", "Life in successful relationships", "Priestly existence today" and "Women in services and offices in the church".

In addition to the bishops, the participants on the synodal path were primarily Christians appointed by the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK). The following people from the diocese of Osnabrück took part in the Synodal Assembly as members: Katharina Abeln (Chairwoman of the Catholic Council), Bishop Franz-Josef Bode, Professor Margit Eckholt (sent by the Catholic Theological Faculty Association), Deacon Ansgar Maul (Working Group of Permanent Diaconate), Provost Bernhard Stecker (Diocesan Priests' council) and Auxiliary Bishop Johannes Wübbe. The head of the pastoral care department, Martina Kreidler-Kos, and the head of the forum at the cathedral, Daniela Engelhard, acted as experts for the synodal forums on relationship issues and the women's forum. In addition, Father Daniel Brinker was on site in Frankfurt as a spiritual guide for the group of “Young Synodalists”.

With the 5th Synodal Assembly from March 9th to 11th, the Synodal Path of the Catholic Church in Germany came to a temporary end. The question of how the principle of Synodality can be further consolidated in the church is to be dealt with by a Synodal Committee at federal level over the next three years.

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