“The rifts are very deep”

Wolfgang Ipolt, Bishop of Gorlitz © Julia Steinbrecht (KNA)

The Bishop of Gorlitz, Wolfgang Ipolt, has warned against a failure of the reform dialogue of the Catholic Church in Germany. "I hope the whole thing doesn't end in chaos," Ipolt said in an interview with the newspaper Die Tagespost.

"The rifts are very deep," Bishop Ipolt said after the recent regional conferences of the "Synodal Way". The ies include sexual morality, the priestly way of life, power and the separation of powers, and the role of women in the church.

Difficult reform process

Among the 230 participants, there are "tensions that you can't just explain away," Ipolt explained. "On the one hand, very emotional arguments and expectations are presented, on the other hand, a theological debate takes place," said the bishop. "When emotions and theology clash, then it becomes difficult: Then the one no longer allows the other to be valid."What is needed is a theological foundation, Ipolt demanded. "On this foundation, we must learn to talk together – all sides: Bishops, lay people, women and men: that's what I see as the biggest challenge right now."

Asked what might help ease tensions, Ipolt said the bishops had proposed by a large majority "that the leadership of the Synodal Way prohibit both applause and rejection during exchanges, so that boos or applause would stop". In addition, he stressed that the bishops also wanted to "express more clearly that some things cannot be fulfilled" in view of the high expectations.

Dialogue at the Synodal Way

The bishop of Gorlitz also said he was "annoyed" "when full-time employees, who are paid by the church, foul their own nest. They have to be told that the faithful give their money so that they can work and also finance the event with their church taxes. And there one must speak more respectfully about some things."

One of the goals of the initiative launched by the German Catholic bishops and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) is to regain trust lost after the abuse scandal. The unique form of dialogue between lay people and bishops in the Catholic Church was originally planned to last two years. Because of the pandemic, the Synodal Way will end in February 2022 rather than October 2021, according to current plans.

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Christina Cherry
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