Life wasn’t meant to be easy. I imagine that Pope Leo XIV will be feeling this when he looks at the troubled German church.
Four of the 27 German diocesan bishops have opted out of the ongoing mess known as the Synodaler Weg or “synodal way.”
The Synodaler Weg has been steadily drifting further and further away from Pope Francis’ vision of synodality.
Right now, they’re in the middle of voting themselves powers to make changes to major Catholic Church teachings.
It’s the same old same old—ordaining women, optional priestly celibacy, lay preaching at Mass, lay selection of bishops, and abandoning the church’s longtime teaching on homosexual acts.
Yes, that’s right. All those wonderful changes which have emptied Protestant churches across the world for the last 50 years.
Meanwhile, young Mass-going Catholics across the West flock to the least liberal parishes they can find and happily line up for that old-time religion.
Imagine if our Plenary Council had voted itself the power to make changes to church teaching in Australia.
Some people wanted it to do exactly that. They were stopped by bishops who turned out to be more old-school than many of us suspected (me included).
But imagine if only four of our 28 diocesan bishops in Australia had stood up against it. How bad would things have to be here?
Thankfully our Plenary Council was only small potatoes, and its harm could be minimised.
But the Synodaler Weg is almost certainly going to end in schism between the church in Rome headed by Pope Leo, and some other kind of German church headed by someone else.
Some people have criticised these bishops—Cardinal Rainer Woelki, and bishops Stefan Oster, Gregor Hanke, and Rudolf Voderholzer—for not fighting back from within.
But I think all four have realised they are seriously outnumbered. They are also aware of the time-wasting that goes on at these gabfests.
If I were a bishop with a busy diocese, I’d be very tempted to cut my losses and go home and do the job that I was appointed to do.
One of the four German bishops, Gregor Maria Hanke, has also now resigned as a bishop and wants to go back to pastoral ministry. Can you blame him?
The chairman of the German Bishops’ conference is Bishop Georg Bätzing. He’s on the record as saying that the Synodaler Weg isn’t seeking schism.
He’s also on the record as supporting voluntary celibacy, ordaining women, and intercommunion with other churches.
How does he square that circle? Easy. He says one thing and believes another.
Lots of people in the church don’t believe what they say they believe every Sunday at Mass. They certainly don’t let it change their behaviour.
Jesus warned us about this many times. He also said that one day, God will sort us all into two piles based on exactly this.
What is schism anyway? In the code of canon law, it’s refusing submission to the pope or communion with the members of the church subject to him (canon 751).
Back in 2022 a collective of concerned German lay scholars calling themselves Neuer Anfang (“New Beginning”) protested the direction taken by the Synodaler Weg.
In 2023 they mapped out three possible ways forward. The first is the path of reconciliation.
This is where the Synodaler Weg literally has a come-to-Jesus moment, pulls itself back on track, and submits to the pope’s authority.
It would be unpopular with the noisy professional Catholics, who might flounce off.
The German church would end up smaller and poorer, but also more consistent in its witness to the gospel.
The second is a “dirty schism,” which some might argue already exists. The Synodaler Weg and its participants continue to say one thing and do another.
This is like the “phoney war” in 1940 when everyone was on edge, but nothing seemed to be happening.
The ongoing hypocrisy will continue to be toxic for ordinary Catholics caught in the crossfire.
The third option is a formal schism, which everyone will be trying to avoid.
The German “church tax” makes everything more complicated, as money always does.
The miserable history of the first Reformation in Germany also makes things more complicated.
You might like to ask Pope Leo XIV’s predecessor Pope Leo X about that one, because he helped to cause it (hint: money again).
I know you probably feel like you have enough to pray for right now, but you might want to add this mess to the list.
I am certain the pope would be very grateful.