A turbulent year lies behind the president of the German Bishops' Conference, Munich Cardinal Reinhard Marx. In the interview he draws an interim balance of many open building sites, from the pastoral care of the family to the reform of the Curia and refugee policy.
CBA: Cardinal, in October the bishops in Rome had a controversial discussion about marriage, family and sexuality. The next synod follows in a good ten months. How will the German bishops accompany the further discussion? With a renewed survey, as suggested by the new working papers from the Vatican?
Marx: We only learned about this after our last meeting in the Permanent Council, but of course we will invite everyone to participate. In any case, we will very soon publish all the important texts on the Synod, including our previously unpublished statement from the summer on remarried divorcees. This is a very balanced and well-reflected text, written by several bishops and intensively discussed in the conference. I ask everyone to engage in it, and I hope for a broad and constructive debate that can be a good preparation for the Synod.
CBA: … where in the end something should come out?
Marx: The sense of a synodal process is not that there are winners and losers at the end. It is about a common search, a broad theological discussion. The prerequisite for solutions that can be supported by as many people as possible is a spiritual process in which one does not bury oneself in one's own position and tries to impose it, but rather really opens up to the other and also dares to take a new theological approach. In the end we have to find unity.
CBA: Many observers see the Catholic Church torn apart by power struggles and wing wars, in which Benedict XVI is allegedly also involved. is involved. How do you perceive Pope Francis?? You are one of his closest advisors.
Marx: I experience him as very calm and serene. Francis really trusts that the Holy Spirit is at work in the Church, even if it sometimes seems disparate. For the pope emeritus it is quite clear: There is only one pope. Benedict XVI underlines this. Again and again. And whoever thinks aloud, well, somehow we have two popes, is playing with fire. But it is also clear that Benedict is one of the greatest theologians of our time, so his arguments will be taken seriously. Not because they come from the pope emeritus, but because they are theologically sound.
CBA: The pope emeritus recently said he would like to be addressed as "Father Benedict". Do you do that now too?
Marx: No, I say to him as always "holiness" and "you", and it remains so.
CBA: Pope Francis wants to strengthen local churches. Do you already see more competences coming to the bishops' conferences?
Marx: In a globalizing and highly diverse world, it would be foolish to weaken the papacy. But a strong authority does not have to do or determine everything itself. On the contrary, I think centralism is a sign of weakness. Bishops are not branch managers of the universal church; the local churches have their own weight. What role should be given to the bishops' conferences is a matter for further theological discussion. The Pope apparently wants more collegiality. In the K9 group, we are currently examining which competences absolutely must be exercised in Rome. But this has only just begun.
CBA: When it comes to church labor law, after all, the bishops can decide for themselves. They have adjourned until spring after the recent decision of the Federal Constitutional Court. What do you want to achieve?
Marx: Our decision of principle stands: We want an opening. So the discussion will not start all over again. After the Karlsruhe ruling, however, we agreed not to rush into anything and to study the reasoning more closely so that one does not have to correct it afterwards. Already there is no automatic dismissal of employees who remarry civilly after a divorce. Leaders are subject to higher loyalty requirements than others. This must be made even clearer, so that personnel managers, but also applicants, know better where they stand.
CBA: In Germany, thousands are currently taking to the streets out of fear of Islamization. Does that worry you?
Marx: Some groups in Germany want to create a mood in view of the terrible events in Iraq and Syria. The right-wing scene in Germany has not become smaller, on the other hand there is indeed Islamist rhetoric of conquest, you just have to look at the Internet. This fires each other. We must make it all the more clear that the often traumatized refugees come to us precisely because they are evading radical Islamist terrorists. Fortunately, most citizens want to help them. Those who are now stirring things up against this must be clearly and unambiguously put in their place.
CBA: There are important anniversaries in 2015: 70th anniversary of the end of the war, 50th anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council. What will keep you busy?
Marx: Anniversaries and days of remembrance must be celebrated, but we must not get bogged down in self-congratulation or nostalgia. I am very interested in history. But: there has to be talk about the future, the past is important, but more important is: how should we move forward?
The interview was conducted by Christoph Renzikowski and Gottfried Bohl.