German Bishops traveled to Rome to have a day-long meeting with Vatican officials where resolutions were made regarding the controversial “German Synodal Way.”
This Synodal Way is a project of the Church in Germany that was launched in 2019 to answer concerns of the Church and respond to the diminishing number of Catholics in the country. It attempts to create a new governing body that has the power to change doctrine and holds superiority over the bishops. The Synodal Way has drafted documents calling for the ordination of women and a change to Church doctrine on homosexuality.
The Pope has publicly expressed his concern over these developments of the Church in Germany, saying it continues to “move further away from the path of the universal Church.”
And last month, the Vatican threatened canonical action against the German Church if they refused to halt a vote on an attempt to create a new Synodal committee.
The meeting between the Vatican and German Bishops took place on March 22 and identified the parties' “differences” and “agreements.” It resulted in the bishops saying that they will work together with the Vatican on their Synodal Way.
The document released on the meeting said the atmosphere was “positive and constructive” and made it clear that moving forward, the German Bishops will:
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…identify concrete forms of synodality in the Church in Germany, which are in accordance with the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council, the requirements of canon law, and the results of the world Synod, and which will then be submitted to the Holy See for approval.
The two parties also agreed that they will meet once again before this summer.
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