They are 67 bishops; 67 to go to Rome to meet the Pope and all the services of the Roman Curia. This Monday, November 14, the German bishops begin their five-day ad limina visit, which all Catholic leaders in the world have to make in Rome every five years on average.
But this time, more than ever, this visit comes at a strategic time, a time of great tension between Rome and the German episcopacy. Controversial: the direction taken by the “Synodal Path”, launched in Berlin in 2019, to respond to a dramatic report of sexual abuse published at the time by the Episcopate. And resolve the systemic dimension of managing those facts that were then identified.
Since then, the rift between Berlin and Rome has widened, leading to a growing misunderstanding between the two sides. On the one hand, the Church in Germany has initiated a comprehensive reflection that focuses on four themes: exercise of power in the Church, priests, sexuality and the role of women in the offices. On the other hand, the Vatican sees a danger of schism in this work and in particular in the proposals that came out of it, such as the abolition of celibacy or the ordination of women.
On Sunday, November 6, on the plane that brought him back from Bahrain, Pope Francis did not hide the open criticism inspired by the synodal route across the Rhine: “I say to the German Catholics: Germany has a great and beautiful Protestant Church. I wouldn’t want another who isn’t as good as the other. »
First of all, the members of the German Bishops’ Conference want to remind the leaders of the dicasteries, cardinals and bishops who will meet them, the origin of their approach and the expectations it arouses in German society. “The synodal path in Germany has its roots in sexual abuse that has deeply hurt the Church and public opinion,” insists a source close to the German bishopric.
Cultural adjustment or schism?
For the German bishops, this reflection on the adjustment of the Church to their time is in fact one of the conditions for the proclamation of the faith in their country. And when we talk to them about the danger of schism, they reply that they are more likely to face a “silent and regular schism” in which the faithful tiptoe out of the Church.
So you intend, during the five days of your visit to Rome, first to present the debate as a local issue. “At this stage we are not discussing the core of the faith, but rather things that fall under cultural understanding,” stresses one bishop. So who aligns the German debates with a form of acculturation of faith, such as that found in Africa, for example, with the liturgy.
“The synodal path does not propose rules for the world, but for the coexistence of faith in Germany,” adds another official.
The so-called synodal way
Thus, Catholic leaders across the Rhine will try to persuade the Vatican to reconcile the “universality” and unity of the church on the one hand and a form of “pluralism” on the other. Two terms that, in her opinion, are not mutually exclusive, as long as the fundamentals of the Catholic faith are not at stake.
The German bishops know very well that they will find a curia that is mostly skeptical, not to say hostile, about their actions. The Pope himself, who has repeatedly referred to the undertaking across the Rhine as the “so-called synodal path”, is the first of them.
The German episcopacy will also have to contend with its own tensions, since the unity between them is far from perfect, as recalled recently by a vote on the text of the synodal path proposing the development of sexual morality. With 60% of the vote in the Bishops’ Conference plenary session in early September – less than the 66% required for the adoption of such a report – his rejection had caused “a shock” to much of the episcopate. . And recalled the existence of divisions.
The bishops, whose last ad limina visit to Rome was in November 2015, are also entitled to special treatment, which has been very rare for Catholic leaders visiting Rome: they will meet the pope twice. In addition to the audience that Francis traditionally grants to the members of a visiting Bishops’ Conference, which will take place on Friday morning, the Pope will also meet with the German bishops the day before.
Thursday, November 17th, is in fact scheduled for a working session that will bring together for the first time all the heads of the Curia, the Pope and the German bishops. All in the same room, they will tackle the synodal path together.
An extremely rare procedure, already used for Quebecers and also used for Belgian officials who have to explain to Rome why their Flemish wing approved a text in the form of a blessing on September 20 to be intended for same-sex couples.