It is the central result of the bishops' meeting in Paderborn: a four-year dialog process is to contribute to the spiritual renewal of the Catholic Church. In an interview with this site, Cologne Auxiliary Bishop Heiner Koch would like to see a "dialogue outside all pigeonholes".de.
The dialogue process between now and 2015 will be primarily about the questions, "where do we stand in the conversation within ourselves in our search for God and how do we bring that faith to people under changed cultural and social conditions".
"What are the implications of this Godliness and holding high the torch of God in this society for the three basic ministries of liturgy, martyria and diaconia?" – in each case to a focus should take place in the years a discussion meeting at the federal level, said Koch. The series will open on 7. July in Mannheim, where about 300 participants are expected. Each diocese would provide 7 people, sent by the diocesan and priests' councils, and large parts of the German Bishops' Conference, representatives of the Central Committee of Catholics, religious and spiritual communities were also expected to attend.
Zollitsch dampens reform expectations
Earlier, at the conclusion of the bishops' plenary meeting in Paderborn, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, president of the bishops' conference, had dampened the expectations of reform groups: "There will be no revolution," the Freiburg archbishop said. The focus would be on renewals that correspond to the spirit of the Gospel.
Zollitsch announced that he would also speak with professors of theology who call for far-reaching reforms in a memorandum published in February. In the paper, which has now been signed by more than 300 professors of theology, the theologians promote an "open dialogue without taboos" about power and communication structures, church ministry, the participation of believers, and morality and sexuality.