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Bishop Stefan Oster did not shy away from identifying profound theological disagreements as the source of division within the Church in Germany.
A public dispute between the German Bishops’ Conference president and his Polish counterpart took another turn on Monday.
The Vatican has informed German bishops in writing that the ordination of women and changes in the Church’s teaching on homosexuality cannot be subjects of discussion in the upcoming meetings with delegates of the German Synodal Way in Rome.
Pope Francis has expressed deep reservations about the direction of the Catholic Church in Germany.
Here is CNA’s English translation of Pope Francis’ letter to four German Catholic laywomen expressing his “concerns” about the direction of the German Church.
Tuesday was not the first time Pope Francis and the Vatican have expressed reservations about the German Synodal Way.
Bishop Overbeck cites Germany's "post-secular" context amid Synod's discussions on "decentralization."
The archbishop of Durango, Mexico, Faustino Armendáriz, commented that “it’s a challenge to seek the will of God” at the Synod on Synodality.
The past week risked being overshadowed by a letter about the German Synodal Way shared with Synod participants by Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg.
Here’s a timeline of how the controversy over same-sex blessings has unfolded.
Conscious of mounting tensions and open defiance around certain issues, the assembly in Wiesbaden served as a charged prelude to more significant debates.
A German cardinal was publicly criticized by the powerful Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) on Monday for formally warning a priest over same-sex blessings in the Archdiocese of Cologne.
German bishops and representatives of the Roman Curia met in the Vatican on Wednesday to continue discussions started last year about the German Synodal Way.
When asked about the controversy surrounding his recent appointment as the Vatican’s doctrinal chief, Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández responded: “I will do it ‘my way.’”
Birgit Kelle, spokeswoman for the German lay group Neuer Anfang (New Beginning) in a May 29 interview with EWTN Noticias explained that its members reject the Synodal Path initiated by the Church in Germany because they want to “remain Catholic.”
The Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has intervened against the implementation of resolutions of the German Synodal Way that demand lay people should be able to regularly baptize and preach the homily at Holy Mass in churches across Germany.
Pope Francis accepted the resignation of a German bishop on Saturday who played a key role in the German Synodal Way and had come under pressure over his handling of clerical sexual abuse in his diocese.
The German Synodal Way has voted to adopt “implementation texts” related to same-sex blessings, lay preaching during Mass, and a request for Pope Francis to reexamine the discipline of priestly celibacy in the Latin-rite Catholic Church.
Despite repeated warnings from the Vatican, a letter by the president of the German Bishops’ Conference published Wednesday confirms that plans for a German synodal council are progressing.
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg and Maltese Cardinal Mario Grech made their remarks in the wake of the recent European Continental Assembly in Prague.