The President of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), Irme Stetter-Karp, does not want to “buckle and give up our function as a driving force” after criticism from Rome of German reform wishes. She told the Ulm-based daily newspaper Suedwest Presse on Friday: “We have a dream of a Church that has better things to do than just defend its power”.
There is currently a dispute about a new body set to be created, a “Synodal Council”, in which laypeople and bishops are to look for answers to central questions together. Rome sees this as weakening the authority of the bishops, while its proponents argue that the decisions the body would make would not bind the bishops under canon law.
ZdK Vice-President Thomas Soeding expressed surprise in the newspaper at the accusation by Pope Francis and high-ranking cardinals that the reform project was elitist, i.e. that it did not represent the broad masses but only top Church officials. Soeding said that this criticism comes “from those who have the most elite position in the Church“.
Originally reported by KNA Germany.
