In an open letter addressed to the president of the German Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Georg Batzing, 162 Italian lay people denounce the risk of the directions proposed by the German Synod Path
Newsroom (04/08/2022 09:50, Gaudium Press) A group of Italian lay people have written an open letter addressed to the president of the German Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Georg Batzing.
Dated July 30 and signed by 162 lay people from northern Italy, the letter reflects concern for the unity of the Church in relation to the German synodal path.
Divided into 4 points, the letter first shows the concern for unity and identifies a probable rupture within the Church.
The importance of Christian unity
The laity cite the gospel of St. John, in which Our Lord calls for the unity of all. “Christian unity is the true witness we must offer, more than the ‘worldly’ cunning of our analyses,” the letter explains.
Recalling the figure of the great apostle of Germany, St. Boniface, the letter states that the unity of the Church is the mark of its credibility and its charm.
Strengthen faith, not weaken it
In the second point, the laity make it clear that they are already aware of the difficulties, errors, and delusions of the current era and state, “Honestly, we don’t need a Synod to repeat the analyses about the current situation for us.”
The missive continues the line of thought and accuses the work of the German Synod of sowing confusion and providing indifference and estrangement in the Church. And states, “the task of an ecclesiastical assembly is to confirm us in the faith, not to weaken us” and further “The Synod seems to focus on the concern to establish new ‘rules’ to reform the Church.”
The temptation of the Church in Germany: giving in to the ideologies of the world
At the next point, the letter fears that the Church in Germany is giving in to the temptation to adapt and conform to the world:
“We are in the world, but we are not of the world (…) We believe that it is illusory to think that a doctrinal submission can produce a greater presence of the faithful in our communities, simply because the Church becomes more compliant.”
The danger of giving in to the whims of ideologies
The more complacent, the more insignificant the Church becomes states the text and explains that many examples show that for someone’s conversion “it is not necessary to change doctrine, but it is necessary to call to a new life, along which the doctrine can be explained and explained while believing in it.”
Instead, many Catholics give in to the “whims of modern ideological man” wanting to make the Church a more compliant institution, denounce the laity of Italy.
Ashamed to belong to Jesus Christ
The last issue addressed by the letter is the apparent shame of the Church in Germany to belong to Christ: “We have the impression that, deep down, many participants in the Synod of the Church living in Germany are ashamed to bear witness to Christ for what he is and then would like to ‘transform him’ (…). “
To this, the letter adds Jesus’ stern warning: “Jesus himself foresaw that this could happen, but he added that he will also be ashamed of those who are ashamed of him.” The letter closes by asking that what the senders fear so much should not happen.
The Vatican Warning
The missive appeared in the magazine “Tempi” shortly after the German Bishops’ Conference’s cold response to the Vatican’s warning about the proposed directions of the Church of Germany.
Last July 21, the Holy See issued a statement in which it explained that the “German Synod Path” has no authority to change the moral doctrine or structures of the Church. The Vatican document further states that such attitudes represent a “wound” and a “threat” to the unity of the Church.
German Synodal Way
Many other church authorities have already shown concern about the directions and changes proposed by the German Synodal Path. Among them, Cardinal Walter Kasper spoke of “a coup d’état.”
The German Synodal Way was born to combat sexual abuse in the Church, but now holds studies and meetings to review and eventually reform Catholic morality, doctrine and Church structures.
Among the German Synod’s agendas are the ordination of women, issues on human sexuality, structural reforms of the church, and others. The German Synodal Way seems to have taken on the responsibility of modernizing Catholicism. (FM)
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