Germany on the march down the Synodal Path leading directly to schism and heresy
Sexual assaults, abuse of power, outdated structures - the "Synodal Path" wants to work through the problems of the Catholic Church. A conversation with Vice-President Thomas Söding about reforms, the Vatican's sense of power and the danger from the far right.
For more than three years, the Synodal Assembly met in Frankfurt to debate the necessary reforms of the Catholic Church. The published cases of abuse in recent years have initiated the movement. The assembly consists of a total of 230 people, including the members of the German Bishops' Conference and 69 representatives of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK). On Saturday, the congregation concluded its final session, following resolutions on women's rights, the blessing of gay couples and celibacy. Vice President Thomas Söding draws a mixed conclusion in the stern interview.
Can the Catholic Church Change?
Mr. Söding, do you think a Catholic Church can be contemporary?
It always has been. The Catholic Church in the form of the 19th and early 20th centuries has been incredibly prosperous. But the problem is, too many people cling to this model who don't adequately study the alternatives known to Catholicism. That is why they block reforms and see them as a betrayal. But in reality the Church has many possibilities.
In the Synodal Assembly you deal with these possibilities. Bishop Georg Bätzing, who is the episcopal chairman of the conference, said himself that he does not believe that the reforms that have been decided can prevent further church exits. Does the Catholic Church no longer play a role for many people?
The reform steps came too late. But I say better late than never. There are several factors for the lack of church affiliation. On the one hand, there are social megatrends. All large institutions have problems retaining members over the long term. The churches, the Protestant as well as the Catholic, are particularly important. We will hardly be able to influence that. On the other hand, there is a plethora of homegrown problems. In particular, the systemic abuse, which thank God is being exposed. If it is not processed, many more people will say: This is not my church. This is not the church that is in the spirit of Jesus Christ.
As Vice President, are you satisfied with the outcome of the meeting?
I am satisfied in that we had the combined effort of bishops and "lay people". We didn't split up, that wasn't a matter of course. Some have rung the death knell from the start. But lo and behold, we are alive. It's not nearly enough, but it was important to show what's going on in the Catholic Church.
From your point of view, what are the greatest successes?
We have laid the foundation for more transparency and control. However, there is still a lot to be done. We have shown that discrimination against women in the Catholic Church is absurd. And we have identified the Church's traditional sex teaching as a major problem. That is why we said that homosexual and queer personalities also belong fully and that the Catholic Church must find ways to welcome and bless them. The Church no longer cares what happens in the bedrooms when they're really couples in love. Therefore, the labor law was also changed. The church has understood that it must promote its values and its institutions itself. Large church organizations such as Caritas are already doing this.
What was the atmosphere like there?
Intense, tense. In between, also marked by the fear of whether we can stand the tension. In the end, however, it was solved because wise decisions were made and strong signals were set. The Catholic Church can and must change.
And what exactly?
Whenever the question of power is raised in the Catholic Church, alarm bells ring in the Vatican. I think that's a mistake. We were not deterred. But I would have wished for clearer signs, for example, that not only the diaconate but also the priesthood for women is affirmed. But I have the impression that something has started to move here. We must make this movement permanent.
The Vatican has already criticized key proposals and announced that it does not want to support parts of them. How should reforms be implemented so permanently?
Much of what we have decided will be implemented in the individual dioceses. That's where the bishops come in, even if they don't agree. But we know that the vast majority of bishops understand and want to deliver. Now I say: You will recognize them by their fruits.
Still, the Vatican has great influence. There was even a letter from cardinals speaking out against the German reforms.
We obviously have a communication problem with the Vatican. Some there fear that we want to disempower the bishops. The opposite is the case. We are convinced that the episcopate is important for the Catholic Church. But we must create the opportunity to implement joint reforms. And we have shown how this can be done within the framework of canon law.
Does that mean the Pope can't just veto it?
The Pope himself said that we need to rethink the Catholic Church. Clericalism*, Catholic machismo, is a worldwide problem. [*Clericalism means the endeavor to expand the influence of the Church on public life – Ed. Cathcon: No it does not!]. This is not a surprise to me, but apparently it is to some Vatican officials. I trust that the international synod will recognize and solve this problem. We can do our part in Germany. I don't expect a veto, but rather that the Vatican seriously consider our resolutions.
Although the church is popular in other countries and not in our country.
But there, too, we have the phenomenon of abuse, which is often still kept under wraps. I would venture the thesis: Precisely because the Catholic Church is a universal Church and is growing overall, it need not be afraid of change. You could say that what is important for a small country like Germany does not have to be done exactly the same way in Argentina.
Everywhere in the Catholic Church it has been shown that things cannot go on as they are. We are now at a stage where I would advise encouraging initiatives like ours. What we have decided in Germany is certainly not the last word. But we dealt responsibly with our situation. We shouldn't deny each other that we are Catholic, but see that there are different ways of being Catholic. Holding all of this together is the job of the Pope.
And what if the unity of all Catholics is more important to the Pope than a country like Germany giving up?
We don't want an extra sausage being fried for Germany. But the Pope has the task of relating unity and diversity. To imagine that all Catholics around the world would just march in step - that would be a caricature of the Church. Pope Francis himself has just declared that celibacy is not set in stone. We say that too.
But at a synodal meeting last year, there was no necessary two-thirds majority for a "revised sexual morality" of the church.
Yes, that was a low point.
You have now asked the Vatican to examine whether celibacy, i.e. celibacy for priests, should be mandatory. Is that enough?
For the Catholic Church, celibacy is important, we underlined that in the assembly. At the same time, we argued that there must be exceptions to the obligation. There was a clear majority for this, including among the bishops. There are already many married priests. However, we must turn to Rome on this point. We do that. Hopefully the problems won't be left out there.
Nevertheless, bishops abstained or voted against. What if your decisions don't reach the believers?
The bishops are responsible for local implementation. They now have to deliver and leap over their shadow when they have concerns. We cannot force anyone to be happy. We don't want that either, because it should be their inner conviction. We'll meet again in three years for another synodal meeting, then we'll take stock. In the meantime, there is a high-level committee tasked with paving the way for the future of the Catholic Church in Germany. Synodality goes on because the problems have not yet been solved and we have now experienced that the best way to analyze the problems is to jointly tackle them and then to solve them together.
Cathcon: The Anglican chaplain of my Oxford college wrote a book called "The Cost of Authority". We are about to find out the crippling cost to the Catholic Church of Synodality.
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