Priesthood completely undermined in modern Church

Leineweber: Forum does not want to abolish priesthood but open it up

Why do we still need priests?  The basic text of the Priests' Forum of the Synodal Path deals with this and other questions.  In the katholisch.de interview, Matthias Leineweber talks about why he can imagine that not only celibate men can carry out the ministry.

"The Forum should address the question of whether the priesthood is needed at all." Amendment 11 of the motion committee to the basic text of the Synodal Forum on "Priestly Existence Today" is one of the most controversial decisions of the Synodal Path.  At the Second Synodal Assembly in autumn 2021, 95 Synod member voted in favour and 94 Synod members voted against the Forum addressing the question of whether the priesthood is needed at all.  Subsequently, there was repeated discussion in the media about the extent to which the Synodal Path wanted to abolish priests per se.  At the Fourth Synodal Assembly in September, the second version of the basic text will now be put to the vote.  The Deputy Dean of Würzburg, Matthias Leineweber was part of the editorial team of the Priests' Forum. In the katholisch.de interview he talks about the controversial amendment and the revised text.

Question: One question is discussed most in the media around your forum: Does your forum want to abolish priests, Father Leineweber?

Leineweber: I can say quite clearly: No!  Otherwise we would not be dealing so intensively with the question of priestly existence today.  The amendment we voted on in the Synodal Assembly was not about asking in principle whether the priest is needed in the Church at all.  Our forum should look more closely at why and for what purpose the priestly ministry is needed.  So it was not about abolishing this ministry but about explaining the basics anew, because they are no longer so clear in the minds of many faithful people.

Question: What does it do to you as a priest when the media repeatedly made the claim that the Synodal Path was discussing whether priests should be abolished?

Leineweber: For me, it makes clear the uncertainty that exists - both among the faithful and in society in general.  The priest is no longer a self-evident authority figure in the life of the Church.  Authorities are questioned in society anyway.  For me, this is therefore an incentive to make the priestly official function understandable in our society.

Question: In the basic text it says that the "priest is no longer self-evident and his official action is no longer plausible even within the Church".  What consequences does that have?

Leineweber: The specific nature of the priestly ministry is no longer clear in many congregations because the number of priests has decreased and many of their former functions have - fortunately - been taken over by women and men, laywomen and laymen.  Of course, a large group of them are asking themselves: What is so special about the priestly ministry when, for example, baptism is done by a deacon and the funeral by a pastoral assistant?  We wanted to present this in the basic text with all the challenges in the changed ecclesial situation.  Our text also expresses that we do not yet have any ready answers, because the ecclesial situation and the pastoral situation in all dioceses is changing very much and with it the priestly ministry and the other commissions in the Church.

"I think this is true for all of us: we definitely do not want a "business as usual"."

- Quote: Pastor Matthias Leineweber

Question: So the self-evident facts from earlier decades and centuries no longer exist ...

Leineweber: Exactly.  And I think that applies to all of us: we definitely do not want a "business as usual".  The trigger for this reform process was the sexualised violence by priests, but the challenge to deal anew with the priesthood is also a general ecclesiastical development.  We want to take this situation as an opportunity to re-examine the priesthood within the framework of the theology of the People of God of the Second Vatican Council and to take up some things from the Council more than has been done in the past.

Question: Let us look at the text: In your view, what are the most important new points of the basic text that is now being discussed in the second reading?

Leineweber: Some Chapters have been added with reference to current ecclesial developments.  On the one hand, there is the question of the Synodal Assembly, which we have just discussed: What is the need for the sacramental office of ordination?  In our text we argue that the Church needs the sacramental ministry.  However, we also see that the way it is lived out needs reform.  Alongside this is the reference to the MHG study and the distressing statements about priests who have become perpetrators.  When we talk about the Synodal Path starting from the findings of the MHG study, our forum "Priestly Existence Today" is perhaps the most central forum.  We have included the central recommendations and systematic aspects of the study because we cannot assume that everyone knows the comprehensive study.

Question: Many priestly functions, for example keeping the question of God alive in the congregation or being spiritually present, are described in the basic text in such a way that they could also be carried out by other spiritually trained theologians or religious.  Why?

Leineweber: Our basic text advocates that we retain the priesthood, but we can imagine that persons other than just celibate men could also carry out this priesthood.  We declare that this office must be preserved regardless of the person, whether it is a woman or a man, a married person or a non-married person, also in order to represent a certain officiality in the Church's processes.  The text also underlines this rooting of the priestly ministry in the general priesthood of all of the believers.  This is certainly something we can deepen in the current ecclesial situation.

The Church must become more synodal, Father Matthias Leineweber is convinced. He experienced what that means for priests in specific terms in prison.

Question: What does that mean; in specific terms?

Leineweber: I think that the priest - or the one who assumes this office - is not automatically a prominent personality.  That is important both for the person who exercises this office and for the congregation in which the office is exercised.  This is in line with the People of God theology of the Second Vatican Council, which we strongly support.  Among other things, we also raise the question of leadership, which is not necessarily attached to priestly ordination.  The ordination of priests has a sacramental function in certain moments of the Church, but it remains integrated in the whole process of the priestly people of God.  This is a togetherness and an openness to others that we want to emphasise more.  It is not about a priest as a reverend who is a special person and singled out from the people of God, as was and is sometimes practised.  But this has not been good for the priests and the congregations.  The priest is a believer, a Christian, like all other Christians and baptised people.  However, he has a special sacramental function in the life of the church.

Question: In the text you write again and again that the priesthood needs reform, that some things must change.  What must a priesthood of the future look like that does justice to our increasingly secular society and the enquiries from within and outside of the Church?

Leineweber: The Church must become more synodal.  That may sound a bit bold but I think Pope Francis has given the universal Church a very clear guideline here.  And this applies not only to the Church as a whole, but also to the priest.  That means travelling in a group in which the priest does not always automatically have to lead the way.  But it must be communitarian and everyone must take the same step, to stay in the picture.

Question: Can you give a specific example of this?

Leineweber: In my priestly life I have often experienced a fear of saying something critical to the priest.  However, priests very much need this correction.  Living a celibate life does not mean being lonely.  You can only be celibate if you live in a community.  How can I be there for a community if I don't know how the community lives?  I experienced this very practically as a prison chaplain in Würzburg.  There I have to deal with people who are very distant from the church.  After the service, however, I often heard comments that would not be made in a congregation: "Man, that was great today!", but also "Man, I didn't understand a thing.  What did you talk about today?".  Very direct comments, in other words, which made me realise that in people's minds there is no concept of a priest as a reverend and there is no clerical thinking on either side.  Our goal in the forum is to overcome this aloofness and isolation, which are often the reason why priests end up on difficult paths.