Christ and his Gospel too little recognised along Synodal Path. Matters of Faith and Morals cannot be decided by majority vote.

Bishop Meier: There was partly a misunderstanding about the Synodal Way

"It seems to me that one problem of our time is that we recognise too little Christ and his Gospel as the primary standard in inner-church debates." Augsburg's Bishop Bertram Meier has commented on church reforms and the Synodal Path.

After four years and three delays, the pilgrimage church of Maria Vesperbild between Augsburg and Ulm has reopened. Bishop Bertram Meier of Augsburg celebrated a festive service there on Sunday. According to the pilgrimage management, around 500 people took part.

According to the manuscript, Bishop Meier addressed the topic of church reforms: "It seems to me that one problem of our time is that we recognise too little Christ and his Gospel as the primary standard in inner-church debates. Without closing my mind to new aspects and approaches in theology, we need constants: Fixed points by which we orient ourselves and boundaries which we cannot simply cross without putting divine revelation at risk." Jesus' words should neither be watered down nor relativised.

"It is important that there is an ecclesiastical Magisterium that points the way"

With regard to the reform project Synodal Way, Meier said he thought there had been a misunderstanding in part. Synodality is important. For "synodal" means to be on the way together as a church. "For me, the misunderstanding is to see Synodal meetings as events where important issues of Faith are not only discussed, but decided by majority vote and - according to the German mentality - implemented as soon as possible," said the Bishop. Alone: it is "important that there is an ecclesiastical Magisterium that points the way and prevents us from going astray".

The pilgrimage church of the Sorrows of the Virgin Mary from 1755 has been renovated since September 2019. The renovation cost a good three million euros. The church is considered an important architectural and artistic monument with outstanding ceiling frescoes, excellent rococo stucco and a rare baroque high altar. In its centre is a carved image of grace showing Mary with her dead son on her lap. In her left hand she holds a linen cloth. Maria Vesperbild calls itself the "Swabian capital of Mary". Over the year, the place is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in southern Germany with hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. The Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary on 15 August is the highlight of the pilgrimage year, to which high-ranking dignitaries are regularly invited as celebrants. 

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