Vatican holds dialogue with German Bishops about Synodal journey
Vatican officials are meeting with representatives of the German Bishops' Conference to discuss several theological issues raised in the documents of the synodal process in Germany.
By Vatican News
The Holy See and the German Bishops' Conference issued a joint statement on Friday following a day of discussions at the Vatican on the synodal path in Germany.
According to the press release, representatives of the Roman Curia met with several German bishops “to continue the dialogue started during the ad Limina visit of the German bishops in November 2022”.
The meeting follows a previous meeting held on July 26, 2023 and was “characterized by a positive and constructive atmosphere”.
The discussions focused on “some of the open theological questions raised in the documents of the Synodal Path of the Catholic Church in Germany.”
The representatives agreed to continue their dialogue through “regular exchange” in order to address “differences and agreements”.
According to the joint statement, “the German bishops clarified that this work will serve to develop concrete forms of synodality for the Church in Germany, in accordance with the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council, the provisions of canon law and the results of the Synod of the Universal Church, which will then be submitted to the approval of the Holy See.
The next dialogue will take place before August 2024.
Representatives of the Roman Curia included Cardinal Victor Fernández, Cardinal Kurt Koch, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, Cardinal Robert F. Prevost and Cardinal Arthur Roche, as well as Archbishop Filippo Iannone.
Bishops Georg Bätzing, Stephan Ackermann, Michael Gerber, Peter Kohlgraf, Bertram Meier and Franz-Josef Overbeck represented the German Bishops' Conference – as presidents of the German Bishops' Conference and chairmen of the bishops' commissions for liturgy, vocations and ecclesiastical, pastoral, universal Church and faith services – as well as the general secretary, Dr. Beate Gilles, and the spokesperson of the German bishops' conference, Matthias Kopp.
