“Confident and always visionary”

adminonDecember 22, 2021January 5, 2022Leave a Comment

Hans Langendorfer © Julia Steinbrecht (KNA)

After almost 25 years in the office of Secretary of the German Bishops' Conference, Hans Langendorfer has retired. A successor will be elected in the spring at the plenary assembly of the German bishops

After almost 25 years in the office of Secretary of the German Bishops' Conference, Hans Langendorfer has retired. The conference chairman, Bishop Georg Batzing, thanked Father Langendorfer on Wednesday for his tireless and sacrificial service. In a letter that Batzing personally delivered in Bonn, he praised Langendorfer's work as "trusting, committed, politically ambitious and always visionary".

Langendorfer was first elected to the post in 1996 and served as secretary under presidents Cardinal Karl Lehmann, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, Cardinal Reinhard Marx and Bishop Georg Batzing.

Almost a quarter of a century

The German Bishops' Conference is grateful to him for having filled the office of secretary with commitment over all these years, Batzing said. "It has been almost a quarter of a century of extremely difficult and stressful times, but also of many good developments and experiences."

Early on, he said, Langendorfer had been distressed by the debate on the withdrawal of counseling for pregnant women, and throughout the years the revelations and abysses on the subject of sexual abuse had been an abiding theme. Most recently, the outgoing secretary had provided impetus in the reform debate that had begun in the Catholic Church in Germany, the Synodal Way.

Highs and lows

"The 2011 papal visit bears your signature and is one of the events that still touches you personally today. There have been ups and downs in your term of office, which you have always borne with trust in God and an inner serenity," Bishop Batzing said, at the same time thanking Langendorfer for his theological expertise.

In addition to his theological knowledge, Langendorfer also has the economic and legal skills that he used as managing director of the Association of German Dioceses (VDD). "All these questions are not provided for in Jesuit training or the study of theology, and it is worthy of all honor to emphasize how much you have immersed yourself in the details, always from the perspective of the good of the people."Langendorfer has been a reliable partner and contact person for everyone, nationally and internationally.

Not only secretary, but also priest

In his letter, Bishop Batzing particularly emphasized Langendorfer's priestly service. "Not infrequently you have had to emphasize that you are first of all a priest and then secretary. Your Mass celebrations, including for the ministry community in the Secretariat, are credible testimony to that fact."

His work will not be forgotten. 'It will fit in with the new that is coming'. For me, 24 years means saying sincere thanks to you for your foresight and prudence, the attention to detail and the visionary power of a joyful church that serves the people, which you have realized," said Bishop Batzing of Limburg.

Successor to be chosen in spring

A successor is to be elected at the upcoming spring plenary meeting of the bishops. Until then, the task will be taken over for the time being by the secretariat area leader for the universal church and migration, Ulrich Poner, as acting secretary. For the time being, the VDD managing director post will be filled by the current deputy Matthias Meyer as acting managing director.

Bishop Georg Batzing visits Pope Francis © Romano Siciliani/ Vatican Media (KNA)

Georg Batzing, president of the German Bishops' Conference since March, made his inaugural visit to Pope Francis over the weekend. The Limburg bishop reported afterwards on an "intense, collegial conversation".

Pope Francis is "with his heart with us in Germany" and is following the reform process of the Synodal Way very closely. "He would like us to make good progress in this process."

The visit of the new bishops' conference president to the Vatican was originally scheduled for an earlier date. However, due to the Corona pandemic, the date was considerably delayed. Batzing was accompanied on the two-day visit by Father Hans Langendorfer, secretary of the German Bishops' Conference.

In addition to the meeting with the Pope, the program included talks with the heads of important Curia authorities, such as Cardinals Luis Ladaria (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) and Marc Ouellet (Congregation for Bishops).

Clearing away "blockages" to church life

Curia looks with "great interest" at synodal journey, Batzing says. It is known that the project "did not fall from the sky". Rather, it is an obligation for bishops and laity to work together to remove "blockages" to church life. The reform process is also necessary in light of the latest church exit figures, which are "very depressing". Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri was particularly interested in the events in Germany. The secretary general of the Synod of Bishops is preparing a meeting in Rome in 2022 with the theme "For a synodal church: communion, participation and mission".

After intensive wrangling, the German bishops had decided on a binding Synodal Way in spring 2019. The main topics to be discussed are power, sexual morality, the way of life of priests and the role of women in the church.

With the collaboration of Catholic lay people and external experts, the bishops want to clarify their positions on these ies. Calls for reform had grown louder in connection with the reappraisal of clerical abuse. However, the project is controversial. Objections and admonitions came from the Vatican on several occasions.

"The world will not be the same after the crisis be the same"

Meanwhile, Francis "expressly welcomed" an intermediate step of the Synodal Way that was recently decided because of the Corona crisis. At several regional conferences in September, the consequences of the health emergency for the Church in Germany will be discussed. From the Pope's point of view, this is obviously a sensible project: "He is also of the opinion that the world will not be the same again after the crisis," said Batzing.

He said the pope was also concerned about a resurgence of nationalism in Europe and elsewhere. "He fears a split in society," says the bishop of Limburg. Francis had addressed the ie himself and clearly expressed himself "as a pro-European". The head of the Church expects positive signals not least from the German EU Council presidency, which begins in July. Above all, the poor, the elderly, the refugees and those in need of help should not be lost from sight.

Is the Pope coming to Germany??

Meanwhile, Batzing hopes that the Pope will accept an invitation to Germany extended by Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) during a telephone conversation in May. Following on from this, he has now invited him again – "in the name of all Catholics". Such a visit would be a very special "encouragement" in these difficult times, the president of the German bishops stressed. "I very much hope that he will come."

By Alexander Pitz

The trial of Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon has been postponed until October. He has been reported for failing to report sexual assaults in the late 1980s by ten victims of a pedophile priest.

Not all documents have been translated yet, French media reported Thursday in Paris. The trial and sentencing were scheduled for early April. Victims accuse Barbarin of not following up on related allegations against the priest, Bernard Preynat, in 2007.

In total, he is said to have assaulted at least 70 children. The Spanish prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, had also attended a hearing in September, as well as other representatives of the Archdiocese of Lyon.

Accusations also against Ladaria

The French newspaper Le Figaro reported in September that Ladaria, in his previous post, also at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, had advised Barbarin in writing to "take the necessary disciplinary steps while avoiding a public scandal". Now he also faces accusations of "complicity," the newspaper said, because he did not explicitly ask the cardinal to involve the civil authorities.

Barbarin admitted mistakes

In mid-August, Barbarin had admitted in an interview with the newspaper "Le Monde" to mistakes in dealing with reports of sexual abuse. His actions in 2007 were "not appropriate" to the seriousness of the incidents, the French primate said. Today, the priest in question should not continue to officiate, Barbarin said. The cardinal called his own behavior at the time a mistake, especially toward the victims. At the same time, he stressed he had "covered up absolutely nothing". This word is "inadmissible" in the context, she said.

It is not the only case of which the archbishop of Lyon is accused. Barbarin had already been investigated in 2016 for failing to report sexual assaults. At the time, the prosecutor's office dropped the case after a few months; there had been no evidence of a crime on his part.

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