German church continues her march towards the abyss

 ZdK Vice President criticises priest's warning in the Archdiocese of Cologne

"Denunciation has nothing to do with pastoral care"

After blessing ceremonies for homosexual couples, the priest Herbert Ullmann was officially "admonished" by the Archdiocese of Cologne. What does this mean for the Synodal Path? Birgit Mock pleads once again for a direct discussion between the ZdK and the Vatican.

DOMRADIO.DE: As ZdK you are jointly responsible for the decisions of the Synodal Path. This includes the explicit wish for blessing ceremonies for homosexual couples. At the moment, handouts are also being prepared for this. What do you think about the warning given to Father Ullmann in the Archdiocese of Cologne?

Birgit Mock (Vice-President of the Central Committee of German Catholics / ZdK): We are in the middle of the operative phase for the implementation of the Synodal Path. This includes that six working groups are taking care of proposals for the realisation of resolutions. One working group has the task of developing a handout for blessing celebrations. I hope that we will be able to send it to all dioceses in a few months.

In this respect, what is happening right now in the Archdiocese of Cologne is more than incomprehensible. In Cologne, we are witnessing that Father Herbert Ullmann has apparently been warned off for organising a blessing service for all loving couples together with the parish assistant Ulrike Platzhoff.

Another blessing service is being prepared for next year, after this year's was touching and very well received. 

Birgit Mock

"What is happening right now in the Archdiocese of Cologne (is) more than incomprehensible."

DOMRADIO.DE: It was always clear beforehand that the decisions of the Synodal Path are not binding for the individual dioceses.

Mock: We have known for many years that the faithful have been waiting for official blessing ceremonies for couples who love each other. And many are no longer waiting. Through more than 13,000 signatures of pastors in Europe, and thus also from Germany, we know that they have already conducted blessing ceremonies and that they find the concern of couples to be blessed important. The Synodal Path has also become active on the basis of this practical experience, and has ordered and fundamentally thought through what already exists in practice.

Our resolution on this states that all people are equal before God and that human dignity includes gender identity and sexual orientation. This is the decisive signal from the Synodal Path to the work on the ground. If we assume that all human beings are created by God with the same dignity, that no human being chooses his or her gender identity, but that it is the result of a maturing process, then we can only welcome same-sex couples.

I firmly believe that God shows Himself in their love. That is why I am personally committed to ensuring that the blessing ceremonies, which have long been used in practice to encourage people on their path, will in future tell of the good news and the acceptance of every human being in open churches in all dioceses.

DOMRADIO.DE: But what weight do these resolutions have beyond their symbolic value, if at the end of the day there can be a "warning" of the priest?

Mock: The situation under canon law is such that the resolutions we have passed in the Synodal Path must ultimately be put into effect by each bishop. So it may be that some dioceses implement resolutions more quickly than others - and some resolutions do not.

However, I am not afraid of this disparity, because it is also not a solution to fundamentally oppose changes just because they may not be right for everyone.

However, I would like pastors in all dioceses to be able to bless without the process that we are currently experiencing in Cologne, namely charges, warnings and bans.

DOMRADIO.DE: You just called this a disparity in the dioceses. If you think it through to the end, we will end up with two different legal systems for the Church in Germany. One side will adhere to the guidelines of the Vatican, the other side to the self-commitments of the Synodal Path.

Mock: I hope that bishops will commit themselves to what we have worked out together with them on the Synodal Path. Among other things, this would mean not hindering or sanctioning blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples, but also for remarried divorcees.

No one is thereby attacking marriage as a sacrament in terms of church law. Rather, the Synodal Path has built bridges between doctrine and the world of life. I believe that in a universal church, as it is at present, we will never be able to completely resolve tension. It is a matter of living the diversity that belongs to it. We would like to dispel the scepticism towards the Synodal Path that can be felt in the Vatican. For this, a direct dialogue, which we have been striving for for a long time, would be really important.

DOMRADIO.DE: The background for the warning was probably an anonymous complaint to the Holy See, which is said to have obliged the Archbishopric of Cologne to act. How would you judge such an action by the Vatican? We know that the relationship between Rome and Germany is already tense.

Mock: I would like to look less at the Vatican and more at the question: How is it that this kind of letter is still being written to Rome? In all clarity I say: Mechanisms such as denunciation and possibly even requested or at least sought bans have, in my view, nothing to do with credible and humane pastoral care.

Birgit Mock

"All these bans and demonstrations of power will not stop the power of a movement (...) in the long run."

DOMRADIO.DE: Will this warning have consequences for your further procedure in the aftermath of the Synodal Path? For the planning of the handouts, for example?

Mock: There is really a lot going on at the moment in the implementation of the Synodal Path. Many things are being initiated at the working level. Many have begun to put into practice the decisions that have been taken. Looking to the future, I can only say: All these prohibitions and demonstrations of power will not stop the power of a movement towards a church of diversity and equality in the long run.

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