Four heroic German Bishops, among them a Cardinal refuse to participate in planned German Synodal Committee citing lack of canonical legitimacy

At their last meeting, the members of the Synodal Committee agreed on a framework for a future synodal body. All diocesan bishops are to be represented on it. Four of them are surprised by this.

Quick Synod Mass almost interrupted the conference.  No one had to even move from their seats

Archbishops Gregor Maria Hanke, Stefan Oster, Rudolf Voderholzer, and Rainer Maria Woelki also do not want to participate in a future synodal body in Germany. The four bishops announced this in a letter to the Presidium of the Synodal Committee, which was obtained by katholisch.de. "We must state: Here, a body that cannot claim any canonical authority has decided that all diocesan bishops in Germany, including us, should be members of a future body," the letter, dated May 19, states.

The bishops are referring to a resolution of the Synodal Committee, which, at its last meeting, approved a draft statute for a future synodal body at the federal level. This stipulates, among other things, that all 27 members of the Permanent Council should be represented. "We note this with surprise and ask that in the future it be made clear that only 23 diocesan bishops are members of the 'synodal committee.'"

Bishops want to promote "Roman synodality" in their dioceses

Hanke, Oster, Voderholzer, and Woelki emphasized that they do not consider themselves "a member or a supporter of the synodal committee" and are not "de jure" either. The committee is supported by the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) and an "association of some dioceses in Germany founded for this purpose." They declared that they would "continue to do everything in their power to promote Roman synodality in our dioceses." From the perspective of the four bishops, this includes: "Dialogue, listening together to the Holy Spirit, speaking freely, consultation, protected spaces and structures for consultation processes, reaffirmation of the common foundations in the faith and teaching of the Church, and the conviction that the common celebration of the Eucharist is the 'source and culmination' not only of Christian life in general, but also, and especially, the source and culmination of true Catholic synodality."

At the last meeting of the Synodal Committee in Magdeburg, the foundations for a new synodal body at the federal level were laid.

The bishops also described the preparations for a national synodal body as "unproductive" and referred to "stop signs" from the Vatican. In July 2022, the Holy See made it clear that the Synodal Path was not authorized to oblige bishops and the faithful to accept new forms of governance. Curial Cardinals Pietro Parolin, Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, and Marc Ouellet declared in January 2023 that "neither the Synodal Path, nor any body established by it, nor any Episcopal Conference has the authority to establish the 'Synodal Council' at the national, diocesan, or parish level."

Curial Cardinals Pietro Parolin, Víctor Manuel Fernández, and Robert Francis Prevost also made it clear in February 2024 that the Synodal Committee lacked canonical legitimacy and that the Episcopal Conference could not assume its sponsorship. "This is not changed by the tolerance of bishops' participation in the work of this body, which was achieved during the discussion with representatives of the Roman Curia on March 22, 2024."

Bishops had repeatedly criticized the committee

Hanke, Oster, Voderholzer, and Woelki had repeatedly expressed criticism of the Synodal Committee and repeatedly emphasized their unwillingness to participate in its meetings. Most recently, following the World Synod in November 2024, they declared: "The four bishops are also happy to re-engage with their fellow bishops and with as many other participants from as many church groups as possible on the path initiated by the Roman Synod." The guiding question should be which forms and structures would help the faithful in Germany "to be a people of disciples and missionaries who are on the journey together."

The Synodal Committee sees itself as a working body that takes up and further develops the resolutions and submissions of the Synodal Path. One of the main objectives of the Synodal Committee is to prepare the establishment of a synodal successor body "by March 2026 at the latest", according to its statutes. At the express request of the Vatican, the Synodal Path has renounced the name "Synodal Council" for this body.

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