Scandals

Medal with the portrait of Alfred Nobel © Kay Nietfeld

The president of the Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, proposes a "broad process of reflection" by bishops, priests and laity at the autumn plenary meeting in Fulda. The paper should also deal with the image of the priest, the upheaval in the parishes, the responsibility of the laity, but also with the language of preaching and questions of family, partnership and sexuality.
5. November 2010: Under the title "The Church's Way to the Future," representatives of the Bishops' Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) agree on two joint work projects to examine how the Gospel can be proclaimed in today's conditions.
Topics include the "interaction of priests and laity in the church" and the "presence of the church in society and the state".
21. January 2011: Prominent Catholic CDU politicians call for the addition of "married, proven men" to the priesthood. German Curia Cardinal Walter Brandmuller resents "interference" by politicians in the ie of compulsory celibacy for priests. He said they were not entitled to "take a stand on an internal church ie".
4. February 2011: More than 150 theology professors from German-speaking countries vote for profound reforms in the church. In a memorandum entitled "Church 2011: A necessary departure," they plead, among other things, for greater participation of the faithful in the appointment of ministers, the ordination of married people to the priesthood as well, an improved ecclesiastical legal culture and more respect for individual life decisions.
9. February 2011: In response to the professors' reform paper, some 250 priests and lay people publish a counter-memorandum under the title "Petition pro Ecclesia". In it, they criticize theologians who have done great harm to the church. They appeal to bishops to publicly counter the "distorted image of the Church" painted by theologians and to defend traditional beliefs and the Christian image of marriage and the family.
17. March 2011: At their plenary assembly in Paderborn, the bishops adopt a framework for the dialogue process at the level of the Bishops' Conference. After that, there will be a series of ecclesiastical congresses until 2015. In addition, several major events are to be included: the Pope's visit, the National Eucharistic Congress in Cologne in 2013, and the two Catholic Days in 2012 and 2014
8. July 2011: In Mannheim, the Bishops' Conference launches its dialogue process with a conference under the heading "Believing in Today. About 300 representatives from dioceses, religious orders, universities and associations will meet for this purpose.
14. August 2011: A delegation of German bishops informs the Pope in Castel Gandolfo about the dialogue process. Benedict XVI.
Honors project as spiritual path to renewal.
25. September 2011: Pope Benedict XVI. Calls Catholics to unity and Christian humility during his visit to Germany.
Does not directly address dialogue process.
5. April 2012: Pope Benedict XVI. Ies Easter rejection of clerics' demands for reform. Disobedience is no way to renew the church, he said. His criticism was directed at the Austrian "Priests' Initiative," which advocates, among other things, for the admission of married priests and for remarried divorcees. Reform initiatives by priests have also been formed in several German dioceses, such as the archdioceses of Cologne and Freiburg.
16. May 2012: At the Katholikentag in Mannheim, bishops and Catholic laity affirm the need for reform in the church. The motto of the Christian meeting is "Daring a new departure".

Church representatives welcome the clear words of Pope Benedict XVI. on the abuse scandal in Ireland. The German Bishops' Conference also sees the letter itself as a warning. The German chancellor also ames "universal" significance.

Pope Benedict XVI. wrote the letter as shepherd of the universal church, said government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm on Monday in Berlin. What he says applies universally. The pope has clearly condemned the abuse of children and young people, as well as the church's handling of the cases and the perpetrators, Wilhelm said.The chancellor welcomed the fact that the pope openly addressed ies of reparation and prevention, Wilhelm said. Victims and society need "truth and clarity" in coming to terms with it, he said. For the internal church handling of the cases in Germany, the Chancellor attaches particular importance to the declaration of the Freising Bishops' Conference, the government spokesman said.

Zollitsch: Valid for the whole Kirc The pastoral letter to Irish Catholics contains clear directives to the entire church, the president of the German bishops' conference, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, said Saturday in Freiburg. "What he tells them has validity for the whole Church and is clearly a message also to us in Germany."Without any ifs or buts, the pope condemned the terrible crimes committed by priests and religious against young people.His unsparing analysis shows that the Holy Father faces the problem of sexual abuse with seriousness and with great concern, the archbishop said. The head of the church gives priority to the perspective of the victims. That is why Benedict criticized "the sometimes excessive protection of offenders that the church has often practiced"."I am particularly moved by the Pope's clear words to priests and religious who have sinned," Zollitsch said. They have violated the trust of young people in the worst way and must answer to God and the courts.Zollitsch stressed that the Catholic Church in Germany must also not repeat mistakes. A complete clarification of the cases of abuse in German Catholic educational institutions is necessary. "Therefore, I understand the Pope's admonition to the bishops in Ireland at the same time as an admonition to us as well."The scandal of sexual abuse is not just an Irish problem: "It is a scandal of the church in many places, and it is the scandal of the church in Germany."The Bishops' Conference's commissioner for abuse, Bishop Stephan Ackermann of Trier, also said that the letter's "fundamental statements also apply to us in Germany, indeed worldwide". As examples, Ackermann cites the unequivocal condemnation of sexual abuse as a crime, the call to openly admit misdemeanors and mistakes, and open criticism of any false concern for the reputation of the Church.

Archbishop Stefan Hebe © Lars Berg (KNA)

Bishops in Fulda © KNA