The Presidents of the Synodal Path on the Future of the Catholic Church in Germany are promoting a differentiated view of the reform project. "We as Catholics in Germany are not alone with these concerns, the universal Church is on the move. But this gives us courage and hope for real change," write the President of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), Irme Stetter-Karp, and the President of the German Bishops' Conference (DBK), Bishop Georg Bätzing, in the preface to a Special Issue of Herder-Korrespondenz on Synodal Processes of the Universal Church published on Monday. (Cathcon: link to the 68 pages all in an English version. It is quite a shocking read as many of the contributors, all from the Synod elite, are intent on a revolution whatever the cost to Catholic faith and practice)
The focus is on the criticism that the Synodal Path could be a German special route, possibly leading to a disconnection from the universal Church. According to Stetter-Karp and Bätzing, the booklet aims to broaden the view of the world church in this regard: "It poses the question of comparable considerations, dynamics and questions in other countries and regions of the world, and in doing so finds many. In the publication, 25 authors from all five continents have their say, including the organiser of the World Synod, Cardinal Mario Grech.
According to the Presidents, the worldwide survey shows: "By far not only in Germany is there a demand for a more transparent and participative handling of power, for a further developed and better communicable ethics of relationships and sexuality, for a more future-open shaping of priestly existence and for a more responsible and visible role of women in the Church". There is a great dynamism in the Church, which on the one hand is challenging, but at the same time is "an indispensable part of its nature".
The Inside Story of Vatican II...originally entitled the Rhine flows into the Tiber
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