Commentary: There are two synodal gatherings going on now in the Catholic Church — the German church's "Synodal Way" and the bishops' "synod on synodality" — which will undoubtedly have serious repercussions on the life of the church.
Pope Francis has received a remarkably long list of guests from Germany in recent weeks, more than from any other country, which is remarkable especially considering restrictions on visits caused by the ongoing pandemic.
Pope Francis and his international Council of Cardinals met virtually Oct. 13, discussing the updated draft of a constitution reorganizing the Roman Curia and steps to implement it, the Vatican press office said.
Limburg Bishop Georg Batzing, 58, regarded as an advocate of reforms in the Catholic Church, was elected president of the German bishops' conference, succeeding Cardinal Reinhard Marx, 66.
Just ahead of the German bishops' conference spring meeting to elect a new president, Regensburg Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer has proposed a new system for the group's leadership.
The leadership of the German Bishops’ Conference has never been hit by so much change at any one time. The secretary of the organisation, Hans Langendoerfer, has said he will step down, weeks after president Reinhard Marx announced his retirement.
Though 500 years have passed since the Protestant Reformation began in the eastern German town of Wittenberg, traditional and conservative Catholics find themselves eyeing the German church with concern once again.
Amid a shrinking Catholic Church in Germany, participants in the first session of synodal way meetings brought up questions about sexual morality, the ordination of women, and compulsory celibacy.
