The secretary of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI shared his concerns for the German Synodal Path along with commentary on a decreased emphasis on pastoral care in favour of hygiene protocols.
Newsroom (03/12/2021 12:25, Gaudium Press) Archbishop Georg Ganswein, secretary to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, gave his views to Vatican Magazine on the so-called German synodal path and the German Church’s manipulation of the pandemic.
The Archbishop stated that he has never understood “why church authorities have sometimes pre-empted state directives and been so excessively loyal to the state during the crisis.” He also had questions about “the hygiene protocols that have replaced pastoral care” in many German parishes.
Speaking of the Bishop of Regensburg’s recent criticism of the development of the German synodal path, Bishop Ganswein said that Msgr. “Voderholzer is right when he talks about the abuse of abuse,” that is, using the issue of sexual abuse in Germany to carry out a doctrinal revolution. The synodal path wants to apply “internal ecclesiastical reforms that lead out of communion with the universal Church.” If the bishops do not put an end to the “unrealistic demands” of this synodal path, Rome will be the end.
Msgr. Ganswein has questioned who was driving the synod’s feedback, as he sees many politically active people gathering who, though Catholic in origin, have a different theological view than the magisterium on central issues. He sees “little positive has been heard of a deepening and renewal of the faith since the establishment of German Catholicism.” and so he wonders, “together with many simple people of faith, if the synodal path contributes something to faith.”
With Infocatolica information.
Compiled by Camille Mittermeier
