Are we going to face a schism in Germany? Will there be a schism in the Catholic Church north of the Alps? A second Reformation? This spectre has been going around the world for several years now. So far, we in Germany have not really managed to dispel this spectre, especially as far as the perception abroad is concerned, but not only abroad.
To be clear: there will be no schism and no bishop in Germany ever pursued it.
Last week, we German bishops met for the spring plenary assembly in Augsburg. Shortly beforehand, we received a letter from Rome urging us not to adopt the statutes for the Synodal Committee at this meeting. Cardinal Pietro Parolin (Secretariat of State), Cardinal Victor M. Fernández (Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith) and Cardinal Robert F. Prevost (Dicastery for the Bishops) reminded us of the agreement to jointly "deepen the ecclesiological questions dealt with by the Synodal Path, including the topic of an interdiocesan consultative and decision-making body, at the next meeting between representatives of the Roman Curia and the German Bishops' Conference."
How can we continue? How is it possible to take the Holy Father's concerns about unity in faith seriously, as Cardinal Christoph Schönborn recently asked? How is it possible not to interpret the Pope's ministry as a question of power, along the lines of "Rome versus Germany"? Conversely, how is it possible not to reinforce talk of the anti-Roman effect of "Germany against Rome"?
It was right that the statutes of the Synodal Committee were not adopted. It was right that we took the concerns of the three cardinals seriously and therefore also the concerns of the Holy Father. And it was and still is right to reflect together on how we can proclaim the Gospel in our Church, how we can be with the people in the name of Jesus Christ, how we can support people in their life, especially those who are being marginalised and who are at the centre of the Gospel for this very reason. We have understood. We got the message.
How can we continue? How is it possible to take the Holy Father's concerns about unity in faith seriously, as Cardinal Christoph Schönborn recently asked? How is it possible not to interpret the Pope's ministry as a question of power, along the lines of "Rome versus Germany"? Conversely, how is it possible not to reinforce talk of the anti-Roman affect of "Germany against Rome"? And, of course, how is it possible for us as bishops to remain at the side of the faithful in the name of Jesus Christ, to understand their sorrows and concerns, not only those of their everyday lives and society, but also in relation to our Church?
I will try to outline answers to these questions in ten points. I see these points as a contribution to the discussion, in all modesty, without any claim to completeness. They may be an aid to common understanding, to mutual understanding. The background to my reflections is not the question of how we can enforce certain political views, but how faith, love and hope can grow among people "so that they may have life and have it abundantly". (John 10:10)
1. Synodality is needed
"[The] path of synodality is what God expects of the Church of the third millennium". Pope Francis already made this statement in October 2015 in his address to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Synod of Bishops. It can also be found in the text of the International Theological Commission "Synodality in the Life and Mission of the Church" from 2018. The faithful also attach great importance to a synodal church. What does synodal mean? The answer to this question will be a result of the synodal process itself. What is fundamentally clear, however, is that synodal action means listening, listening to the Holy Spirit, listening to one another, listening to how the Spirit of God manifests itself in history, in the faith of the people, in the present.
2. Recognising the infallibility of the people of God
Pope Francis repeatedly recalls the teaching of the Second Vatican Council on the infallibility of the people of God in matters of faith (LG 12). However, this "sensus fidei" cannot simply be ascertained through religious sociological surveys based on big data. The sense of the faith of the people of God is woven into the great spiritual net that is woven from the meditation of Holy Scripture, tradition, the Magisterium, the expertise of theologians and the signs of the times. Together with the Holy Father, it is the task of the bishops to be advocates of this dynamic element. This is part of their responsibility, which they cannot delegate to working groups or specific councils.
3. We are a sacramentally constituted church
The Church is not simply a result of our ideas, it is a community given by God, a community built up by the Spirit. It lives as a community of togetherness, a style of mutuality and fraternity. In this way, God's presence can also be experienced and experienced among us. It is a gift for us and for the world. It is, as the Council says, an icon of the Trinity (LG 4), a sign and instrument of God's love for mankind and of the unity and togetherness of all humanity (LG 1). When we speak of the mystery of the sacramentality of the Church, we are very much challenged in our time: the diversity of positions leads to polarisation, to the hardening of fronts and to mutual exclusion and ultimately to a counter-witness to the unity that is the Church. We need a spirituality that can live dissent and community without dissolving solidarity. That is our vocation and part of our being.
4. As a church, we see the world as a gift and a task
In view of our mission to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, we are deeply grateful, in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, for the insights gained from the sciences, such as philosophy and psychology, as well as from different cultures. We are grateful for the history of the development of our society. This also includes our insights into the human being, which help us today to reconsider traditional ideas about the nature of the human being and its mysteriousness. For in this way we learn, as the Council says: "With the help of the Holy Spirit, it is the task of the entire People of God, especially pastors and theologians, to hear, distinguish and interpret the many voices of our age, and to judge them in the light of the divine word, so that revealed truth can always be more deeply penetrated, better understood and set forth to greater advantage" (GS 44). We cannot understand the message of the Gospel without this learning process. Conversely, it is about how we proclaim the Gospel in such a way that it can also be a ferment in our society today (GS 44). We cannot understand the message of the Gospel without this learning process. Conversely, it is about how we proclaim the Gospel in such a way that it can also be a ferment in our society today (GS 44). It is about not remaining hidden in the sacristy and in our inner rooms, but going out into the streets of the world. We cannot be concerned with a self-referential church, as Pope Francis repeatedly admonishes. We should not be guided by fear of the spirit of the age, but by the confidence that we can discover the spirit in the age.
5. As the Church, we are the pilgrim people of God
As the Church, we are the people of God. We are pilgrims, we are not a perfect society. Pope Francis also says this in his letter "To the Pilgrim People of God in Germany" of 29 June 2019, when he emphasises that the Church will never be perfect in this world, but that "her vitality and beauty are founded in the treasure she was appointed to guard from the beginning" (No. 3). We carry this treasure in fragile vessels. With this treasure, like the disciples, we journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus, to the margins, together, side by side, in conversation with the Lord, precisely when we recognise him in key moments of brokenness.
6. We need repentance
We are sinners. Repentance is not only the commandment of Lent. But Lent naturally invites us to follow this path. Repentance in the church is essential to ensure that the terrible history of sexualised violence will never repeated. We cannot celebrate the holy sacrifice in the church and lose sight of the victims on the street. The history of the victims must not be spiritualised away, it must pierce our hearts. Those affected, whose mouths have been beaten to silence, must be listened to. Appropriate measures, controls and accountability are needed to stop demonic violence towards others.
7. Reconciliation is needed
Reconciliation is needed among us bishops. Reconciliation is needed among those active in the Church, reconciliation between the extreme positions. Reconciliation is needed in and with the universal Church. Clear signs are needed in Germany that show that nobody wants a schism, nobody wants a schism from Rome. We need signs that different cultures and different ways of faith in our Church are being valued. This reconciliation is at the service to the unity that Jesus himself called us to when he said to the disciples in his farewell address: "Let all be one." (John 17:21)
8. A hermeneutic of trust is needed
It is good and necessary that Bishops Georg Bätzing, Michael Gerber, Stephan Ackermann, Peter Kohlgraf, Bertram Meier and Franz-Josef Overbeck will continue the talks that they have begun with the representatives of the Curia in Rome. We also need in-depth talks with neighbouring countries in order to ask the specific question of how we can witness to and proclaim the Gospel together in the same geopolitical space.
But dialogue alone is not enough. Talks alone are not enough. We need underlying trust. We need the warmth of hearts. It needs the Italian "fiducia", the assumption that the other person fundamentally means well. For this hermeneutic of trust, it would be an idea to remind ourselves not only of the texts of the Second Vatican Council, but also of the "trappings", or rather, the style: that is why two cafés were set up in St Peter's Basilica during the Council, one called "Abba", the other "Jonas". There you could drink cappuccino together between sessions, and there were certainly also cantuccini. Who knows what similarities people found when savouring Italian delicacies back then?
9. We are a World Synod
Many Catholics have been surprised and delighted by the range and depth of topics that the World Synod has brought together. Almost all the topics of the Synodal Path in Germany are also on the table of the global consultations. We need a common understanding, but perhaps we will all learn anew in this Synod what unity actually means: St Augustine already said: In essentials unity, in doubtful things freedom, in all things love. If we are all the Church, the universal Church, we can learn anew in this synod what the essentials are and where special forms are needed in a local church.
10. Stay in dialogue
It is now important to consider with those active in the Church, the bishops, the Central Committee of German Catholics, the baptised women and men in positions of responsibility, how the coming months can be shaped in concrete terms.
These discussions will also be about continuing to practise synodality, standing alongside the faithful with a foundational trust, appreciating and integrating their charisms and listening with a wide heart to how God wants to guide us on our pilgrimage through history. We walk this path together with the Holy Father and the universal Church in this world in which we have been placed by God.