Pope Francis has just leveled new criticism at the Catholic Church in Germany, which has been in a reform process since 2019 that is fueling strong tensions with the Vatican. “I say to the German Catholics: Germany has a large and beautiful evangelical church. I wouldn’t want another one that won’t be as good as the other one,” he said on the plane that took him back to Rome from Bahrain on Sunday, November 6.
In front of journalists, the pope praised “simple religiosity”, which he contrasted with “moralizing discussions” and “ecclesiastical-political” claims. “What do God’s faithful holy people think? How do the holy people of God feel? Pay attention to what he thinks, what he feels,” added François.
With these words, the Pope addresses a frontal criticism of the German bishops and the process they initiated, which over the months has become the catalyst for all the Church’s demands for reform, such as homosexual marriage, the ordination of women or the abolition of the Celibacy for priests.
“A moralism disguised as Christianity”
When “one loses the sense of religion”, he developed, “one falls into moralizing discussions”. Discussions to which he opposed the need to return to the fundamentals of the faith: “The root of religion is the slap that the Gospel gives you, the encounter with the living Jesus Christ,” he emphasized.
“Everything else comes from this gossip,” he continued, mentioning “going to the periphery” and “apostolic courage.” “But we must start from the encounter with Jesus Christ,” added the Pope. If there is no encounter with Jesus Christ, there will be moralism disguised as Christianity. »
Francis has never hidden his reservations about the German synod, which he privately compares to a political process and not a synod. “They are playing at the synod, but they have forgotten the Holy Spirit,” he told visitors about the German bishops in autumn 2021.
The German bishops, who are going to Rome on their ad limina visit from November 14 to 19, will meet the Pope twice on this occasion. The first with all department heads for a meeting which, according to our information, will focus specifically on the Synodal Path. And the second alone with the Pope.
The German church embarked on a synodal path in 2019 after a dramatic report of sexual violence committed within it was published in March of the same year.
During his traditional press conference on the plane, in front of about sixty journalists from all over the world, the Pope also renewed the commitment of the Catholic Church in the fight against the scourge of pedophilia. “Some things have been hidden,” he said. Before adding: “We are working as best as we can, but there are people in the church who don’t see it that way yet. In this matter, too, the Pope regretted “the temptation to compromise”.
“Clear Everything”
Francis, when asked about the advisability of publishing the canonical decisions relating to the internal justice of the Church and affecting bishops, did not answer the question directly. And this while in France the Catholic Church has been badly shaken by the treatment of the affair of Santier, the former bishop of Créteil, who was aggravated by Rome for “voyeurism” in the context of a confession.
“But the will of the Church, nevertheless, Francis specified, is to clarify everything. The pope explained that in the past “in the last few months” he had “received two complaints about abuse cases that were covered up and not judged well by the church”. “I immediately requested a new investigation and we issued a new order,” he revealed. Before you add: “We do what we can. we are sinners »