On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the relations between Germany and the Vatican, the Cardinal travelled to Germany.
News Desk (01/07/2021 15:45, Gaudium Press) The question of the Catholic Church in Germany has given and will give much to talk about. Nothing great is done suddenly as the Latin proverb says, nor is it solved suddenly.
Last Tuesday, addressing some German bishops in Berlin, Cardinal Secretary of State Monsignor Pietro Parolin asked them to put aside individual views and needs, pointing out that “the community must take precedence.”
The Cardinal urged the Church in Germany to “return to a unity that does not depend on being in agreement with common guidelines, as is customary in politics, but on being rooted in God. He opposed “reducing unity to only one particular party, however relevant and significant it may be”. Diplomatic language with somewhat cryptic aspects, which nevertheless reveals the concern of the Vatican’s highest authorities about what is happening in terms of German unity.
The visit marked the 100th anniversary of the beginning of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Germany, in a context that many describe as pre-Catholic because of the advances of the so-called Synodal Way on issues such as sexual morality, priesthood, etc. Among those present were the president of the conference of bishops, Archbishop Georg Batzing, as well as the Cardinal Archbishop of Munich and the Cardinal Archbishop of Cologne, amongst others.
Waters that are not still
In a recent meeting with the Pope, Msgr. Batzing wanted to calm the waters by stating that the German bishops have no intention of “embarking on a special path,” statements such as those of the Bishop of Hildesheim, Msgr. Heiner Wilmer, supporting the promotion of blessings for same-sex unions, seem to openly contradict this.
Also present at Cardinal Parolin’s homily were the Cardinal Archbishop of Munich, Msgr. Reinhart Marx – who in his recent letter of resignation which was not accepted by the Pope encouraged support for the so-called Synodal Way – along with the Cardinal Archbishop of Cologne, Msgr. Raine Maria Woelki – a clear critic of the Synodal Way, and who recently received an apostolic visit to inquire how the handling of clergy sex abuse cases had gone. Cardinal Woelki is facing strong pressure to resign.
However, voices, such as those of Cardinal Gerhard Müller, former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, says that the pressure against Cardinal Woelki is not so much about the issue of the conduct of sexual abuse, from which an independent investigation has already exonerated him, but about his opposition to the Synodal Way.
“Evidently it is not about justice for the victims or taking responsibility for personal failings. The focus is on other objectives,” said Cardinal Muller, who states unequivocally that the German Synodal Way has “a heretical and schismatic agenda” and that trying to find a solution to the issue of sexual abuse in this way is something that is “doomed to failure.” (Gaudium Press/ Saul Castiblanco)
With information from Crux.
