Pope Francis was reportedly expressing deep reservations about the direction of the Catholic Church in Germany, warning that concrete steps currently being taken by the proponents of what the German congregations call "The Synodal Way" "threaten" to undermine the unity with the rest of the church.
The pope addressed his criticism in a November 10 letter addressed to four German Catholic laywomen and initially published in the German newspaper Welt on Tuesday (November 21).
The women were identified in the letter as theologians Katharina Westerhorstmann and Marianne Schlosser, journalist Dorothea Schmidt, and religious philosopher Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz. They were previously designated as delegates to the Synodal Way but resigned in February in protest, saying that the concept was a departure from mainstream Catholic doctrine and practice.
The women wrote to the pope on November 6 expressing their concerns about the direction of the church in Germany.
"There are indeed numerous steps being taken by significant segments of this local Church that threaten to steer it increasingly away from the universal Church's common path," the pope wrote.
The letter was written in German but included Francis's handwritten signature.
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Pope Francis attends the weekly general audience on November 8, 2023, at St Peter's Square in The Vatican.
Pope Francis's Concerns
Among the main concerns the pope had was a push to set up a permanent "Synodal Council," a mixed body of clergy and laity that would govern the German Catholic congregations, which was a top priority for the Synodal Way, a controversial progressive initiative demanding significant radical changes in church structure and teaching.
Francis insisted in his letter that such a "consultative and decision-making body" as currently proposed was "not in alignment with the sacramental structure of the Catholic Church." He also reiterated his letter explicitly ordering high-ranking Vatican officials to tell German bishops that the establishment of a so-called "Synodal Council" was prohibited.
According to EWTN, a committee of Synodal Way leadership recently met earlier this month in Essen to lay the groundwork for the Synodal Council - which they aim to establish by 2026 - directly disregarding the papal order.
Four German bishops voted in June to block funding for the preparatory committee, and a total of eight out of 27 German bishops were absent from the November 10-11 meeting.
"In my 'Letter to the Pilgrim People of God in Germany,' I sought not to find 'salvation' in constantly evolving committees, nor to persist in self-absorbed dialogues rehashing the same themes," Francis wrote. "Rather, I aimed to reemphasize the importance of prayer, penance, and adoration."
The pope also called upon German Catholics to "engage with our brethren" in the margins, a buzzword that identified his papacy so far.
Conservative German Catholics Praise Francis's 'Broadside' to the German Church
Reacting to the latest papal condemnation of the Synodal Way, theologian Martin Brüske of the countermovement New Beginning said that his group welcomed Francis's letter.
"The flagship of Peter has given the German Church a broadside across the bow," he wrote on New Beginning's website. "Those who do not want to hear and see this will bear full responsibility if they ultimately disappear into the maelstrom of division."
Brüske added that Francis wanted to avoid confronting the Synodal Way in a coercive manner, but the letter was a "clear signal" for German Catholics to toe the ecclesiastical line.
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