Battle for the future of German Catholicism

Cathcon translation of Im Blickpunkt München, Freising und noch mehr? In the public eye in Munich, Freising and still more to come?

Rarely are the expectations of a Catholic bishop as high as those placed on Reinhard Marx, who becomes head of Germany's second largest diocese in the Liebfrauendom today in Munich. Many Catholics in the Archdiocese have the Papal speeches about a somewhat tired Christendom still in their ears and hope for a fresh wind. The Freisinger Episcopal Conference (Cathcon: the Conference of Bavarian Catholic Bishops) will be vigilant about what political policies Marx sets out in the national capital. The Bavarian head pastors need the support of the Archbishop of Munich to calm down a media rather excited about the church in politics and to pay more attention to inherited problems in their dioceses. This includes the integration of "Donum Vitae" within the work of the Catholic laity - an unsolved problem, to which also Marx in Munich can bear witness to. And many bishops would like it if the Westfalian (Cathcon- from where Marx comes) in a few days took over a third office: the Presidency of the German Bishops' Conference. Marx has no great desire for this role. More cannot be said. A definitive no from the mouth of the Munich archbishop would just be seen by some of his pious brother bishops as a sign of true vocation.

The election of the Chairman could be a forced ride, directed by the determined hand of Cardinal Lehmann. (Cathcon- mixed metaphor!!!) Above all, the early election date could make more detailed discussions of matters in the foreground more difficult: not 24 hours after the opening of the Spring General Meeting, the name of the successor should be established. Much speaks for Marx: as skilful with the media, a humorous intellectual, who understands how to present the positions of the Catholic Church in political debates, he persuades the public. Marx as a pastoral priest does not avoid discussions with either traditionalists or sceptics and embodies a new impartiality. A chairman who has not actively campaigned for the office would be for many of the Faithful, after the era of Lehmann, a refreshing change. (Cathcon- what a condemnation of the departing Chairman).

Despite his undeniable suitability, Marx would certainly stand on the verge of squaring the circle. Before he should take up these three mammoth and tiring tasks, it remains to be clarified, whether he actually needs to be selected by the General Assembly in February. If the bishops postpone the election until the autumn, and the deputy chairman Bishop Mussinghoff continues the business of the outgoing Chairman, all parties have won a grace period - and the Faithful have lost nothing (Cathcon -as long as Mussinghoff in his six months of glory does not go on German TV and say "God is not Catholic" as he once preached to my very ears in Aachen Cathedral) Because the chairman is, as Cardinal Lehmann once rightly said, not a "German Pope." Things can move even move on without him.