Quo vadis, synod of bishops?

adminonDecember 9, 2021January 5, 2022Leave a Comment

Bishops meet for youth synod © Cristian Gennari/Siciliani (KNA)

Synod of Bishops on youth begins this Wednesday in Rome. A working paper has been available since the summer. The meeting is overshadowed by abuse scandals and a credibility crisis.

The Youth Synod was not cancelled after all. This had demanded individual bishops because of the current abuse and trust crisis of the church. Instead, starting this Wednesday, these topics will also be explicitly discussed; they appeared anyway in the topic requests of the youth presynod in March.

Synod of Bishops under the theme "Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment" lasts until 28. October. The three-week conference will focus on the lives of some 1.8 billion people between the ages of 16 and 29. Focuses on young people's life choices and their relationship to faith and church.

Extensive working paper

In mid-June, the Vatican presented a comprehensive working paper on this topic, which bundles the results of several surveys and preparatory meetings – also with the participation of young people. The 214-point working paper ("Instrumentum laboris") is intended to offer the broadest possible view of the situation of young people and their faith and life choices. It serves as a basis for consultation.

Shortly before the summer break, the Vatican had published the working document for the Youth Synod in October and announced the leadership of the World Synod of Bishops. Not a single European or American is a member of this group: Iraqi Cardinal Louis Raphael I. Sako (70), head of the Chaldean Church united with Rome, Cardinal Desire Tsarahazana (64) from Madagascar, Myanmar's Cardinal Charles Bo (69) and Cardinal John Ribat (61) from Papua New Guinea.

The pope entrusts the important task of general reverend to Cardinal Sergio da Rocha (58), president of the Brazilian Bishops' Conference. He will be the rapporteur of the bishops' assembly and thus have great influence on the formulation of the synod's results.

Just over three weeks before the start, the Vatican also announced the rest of the nearly 340 bishops, religious, experts and auditors in attendance. In mid-September, a new synodal order, the Apostolic Constitution "Episcopalis communio", followed. It is intended to strengthen above all the participation of the faithful in preparatory and follow-up work. The order sets down much of what has already been done de facto in the preparations for the Synod on the Family and the Synod on Youth.

Oster, Genn and Wubbe attend for DBK

Youth Bishop Stefan Oster from Passau, Bishop Felix Genn from Munster and Auxiliary Bishop Johannes Wubbe from Osnabruck are participating on behalf of the German Bishops' Conference. In addition, the pope appointed Cardinal Reinhard Marx; BDKJ president Thomas Andonie will participate as an auditor; as such, he has speaking but no voting rights.

Paul Metzlaff from the Youth Pastoral Care Office in Dusseldorf is part of an international team of helpers. Participating as an ecumenical guest for the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is Julia Braband of the Youth Committee of the German section of the LWF.

To speak for the youth, there are also 50 women and men of different ages sitting in the rows of the Vatican synod auditorium. These auditors can weigh in on the deliberations, but have no vote when the bishops adopt their final document. Critics think that the youth have too little weight in the end.

Desire for "authentic church"

On the other hand, the working paper refers in many places to statements made by young people. Predominant is the desire of young people for an "authentic church". Regarding the fact that many young people are moving away from the church, the working document states self-critically that this also has "serious and serious reasons".

Also cited are "the scandals of a sexual and financial nature," because of which the youth urge the church to "strengthen its zero-tolerance attitude toward its institutions".

This is just one aspect of the 80-page paper, which also addresses family and singleness, generational differences, digital transformation, drugs, migration, unemployment, globalization, society, justice, faith, church, secularization, and sports and music.

Berlin Archbishop Koch sees major differences between Catholic and Protestant churches in dealing with homosexual couples. Rejecting same-sex marriage, however, is not discrimination, she said, but differentiation.

In the Protestant Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (EKBO), homosexual couples will soon also be able to walk down the aisle at marriage. It is now the fourth of a total of 20 national churches where homosexuals are allowed to marry. Against this background, the Archbishop of Berlin, Heiner Koch, has now made it clear once again that the Catholic and Protestant views are very far apart on this point. He is also in active exchange with the Protestant Bishop of Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz, Markus Droge, on this topic, Archbishop Koch told our site.

Relationship between husband and wife designed to last a lifetime

"For us in the Catholic Church, marriage, the relationship between a man and a woman, is designed to last a lifetime and is open to the transmission of life." This has nothing to do with discrimination, but with differentiation, the archbishop stressed. In creation, in which God created man and woman in the image of his love, everything is laid out. This, he said, is a reality of faith and a sacred reality.

"Marriage for Protestant Church rather secular"

"For me, this is not just about some way of life, but about a mystery of faith and the closeness of God in a community. Marriage and family are for us in the Catholic Church lived, given by God, sacramentally real church," Koch continued. The Protestant Church has a completely different view. Marriage, they say, is a secular matter for them, where they would come to quite different conclusions in specific ethical areas and blessings.

"We cannot share those," concluded the Berlin archbishop. It is evident that there are differences on these ies, not only in cultural and historical matters, but also in theological questions of the doctrine of creation, the doctrine of the sacraments, and the understanding of the church.

His diocese stretches from the Harz Mountains to the North Sea: Norbert Trelle has been Bishop of Hildesheim since 2006. He turns 75 this Tuesday and, according to church law, has offered his resignation to the pope. In the interview he looks back.

CBA: Your 75. Birthday falls in the year of the Reformation commemoration. What role did ecumenism play in your work?

Norbert Trelle (Bishop of Hildesheim): Church life in our diocese is organized ecumenically in many places on different occasions. I regularly celebrate services with my evangelical brothers and sisters in faith. We seek constant exchange on sociopolitical ies and, of course, on questions of faith.

I would like to remind you that in 2013, together with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover, we organized a congress entitled "Church to the power of two," at which almost 1.400 Protestant and Catholic Christians met in Hanover to reflect on the future of the Church. We are publishing a prayer book for refugees in ecumenical cooperation and doing much more together. In this respect, ecumenism plays a major role for our diocese and for me as a bishop.

CBA: How do you currently assess the relationship between the two large churches??
Trelle: We are in friendly dialogue with each other on many levels. It greatly strengthens ecumenism that the Reformation celebrations this year do not separate Catholic and Protestant Christians, but bring them together. The central reconciliation service was held in Hildesheim in March. For me, he was a strong testimony that we as Christian churches in Germany belong together. Of course, there are still hurdles along the way. But we have already achieved a lot in the past years. That should give us courage for the future.
CBA: Refugees have always been close to your heart. Are we currently facing a new refugee crisis in Europe??
Trelle: I hope not. But the fact is that there are a number of trouble spots in the Middle East and Africa that are causing people to leave their homes. As long as this does not change, thousands will continue to set out to find refuge from persecution, war or famine. This is a tragedy of huge proportions.
CBA: What are your demands to the government in dealing with the refugee situation??
Trelle: In dealing with the refugees, the burdens are very unevenly distributed among the states. I would like to see much more solidarity in Europe with countries like Italy and Greece. And we should not forget that Jordan and Lebanon have taken in well over a million refugees, even though they have nowhere near the economic resources of the EU countries. I see an urgent need for action.
CBA: Two years ago, as bishop of Hildesheim, you were able to look back on the 1200-year history of the diocese, but you also had to think about the future of the diocese. Do you see the diocese well positioned for coming times?
Trelle: We are well prepared to deal with demographic change and the resulting decline in the number of Catholics and in church tax revenues. We have had to make structural changes in recent years with all the difficult and painful concomitants. There have been parish mergers, budget cuts and more. We are currently reorganizing inter-parish pastoral care. And we have set in motion a process that we have called "local church development," which is gaining momentum more and more. Priests, professionals and committed Christians have a common responsibility to shape the church of tomorrow. There I see new beginnings that make me confident.
CBA: During your tenure, you had to close 56 churches. What were your feelings?
Trelle: Having to close a church is painful and has always made me very sad. Often enough I could have cried along when I looked into the faces of the faithful after profanation services. Unfortunately, however, it was unavoidable to give up churches, among other drastic measures, in order to consolidate the diocese and make it fit for the future.
CBA: In the last ten years, several allegations of abuse have been made in the diocese of Hildesheim against a retired priest and against one of your predecessors in office, Bishop Heinrich Maria Janssen. An independent report was completed on Wednesday, which has not yet been published. What do you hope to achieve?
Trelle: I hope for sufficient clarity and a differentiated assessment of the abuse allegations from the expert opinion. We will read the report very carefully and then present the results in a few weeks together with the institute we commissioned. Many other dioceses are also struggling with allegations of abuse.
CBA: How can the church regain its credibility?
Trelle: Credibility can only be regained through trust. People must be able to trust us to do the right thing in dealing with the terrible crime of sexual abuse. A church that cares for the victims, consistently deals with misconduct within its own ranks and does everything to prevent it in the future is a credible church.
CBA: According to canon law, you must report to the pope when you reach the age of 75. Offer your resignation at the age of 50. Have you already done this?
Trelle: This is what I have done.
CBA: Would you like to remain in office or are you looking forward to retirement?
Trelle: The pope decides whether to accept my resignation. In any case, I look back with gratitude and mostly good feelings on the more than eleven years in which I was allowed to lead the diocese of Hildesheim.
CBA: What do you plan to do as emeritus?
Trelle: I will certainly continue to celebrate services in the diocese when and wherever I am needed. Besides that: Reading a lot, hiking, and cycling to places and regions of the diocese that were previously unknown to me, as long as my "brother body" will cooperate. Perhaps I will also be able to visit those churches of the diocese in which I have not yet been. Out of more than 400 churches, that would be about 70 – quite a respectable long-term program, in my opinion.

The interview was conducted by Michael Althaus.

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