Looking through a perforated metal cross at participants in the synodal assembly © Harald Oppitz (CBA)
Catholic Church embarks on synodal journey. our site broadcasts live on Web TV from Thursday to Saturday and reports here in the live blog. All entries are observations and summaries, not verbatim quotes.
All blog entries are personal observations of the reporters on site. Sometimes written in the rush of discussion. Quotes are not usually to be taken as such, but rather as a catchall. There can always be misunderstandings and misconceptions.
Saturday, 1. Feburary
12.49 p.m
The debate is over. Consciously, the words "brothers and sisters" are not used at the end, but "brothers and sisters" and "creatures of God". Now we go into the spiritual impulse of Father Bernd Hagenkord.
12.45 pm
Archbishop Hebe: MHG study asks us: how have we as a church dealt with homosexuality. I encourage the forum to look more at this. We had a meeting in Hamburg last year. The result was "devastating". Our teachings are hurtful and do not carry on. We speak from the top down and do not go down well. The answer "abstinence" is not an answer that arrives. Many homosexuals live bindingly and in fidelity. As a church, we need more far-reaching answers than we have had so far.
12.44 o'clock
Pastor Jentzky from Dortmund: Valentine's Day is coming soon. We give blessings, as with the carol singers. There is always God's blessing in a successful relationship.
12.43 pm
Religious sister: sex and sexuality are not the same thing. I am celibate and still have a fruitful life. It must be about tenderness, for some with sex and others without sex.
12.39 p.m
Auxiliary bishop Schwaderlapp: Body and soul belong together. Sexuality is a gift and a task for us.
12.33 o'clock
Janosch Roggel: Abuse by a priest was the worst for me. I am transsexual. We are all sinners. Each of us can be blackmailed. Dependence and incapacity are systemic failures. I was grown up and unfree. You can not ask victims to face this event, they must be clear. We ARE here in the room listening. You listen, but you do not protect me from hatred and anger. They are speechless now, but the perpetrators are not listening today. – Great applause in the hall. Moving.
Note
Names may be misspelled, as the statements are going very fast at the moment.
12.32 o'clock
Katharina Norpoth, BDKJ: You say we young people have no clue. But: Can true love be sin? Quite serious. This deserves appreciation!
12.30 o'clock
Prof. Christiane Woopen: If we only talk about women and men, we forget a lot of people. God also created 'diverse' and intersex, they were not an accident. Three questions: 1. How consequently we think the freedom of man to the end? 2. How consistently do we think charity through to the end? 3. How consistent do we think to the end that the church should create the relationship of the individual to God, and make it possible to live that in community?
12.29 pm
Johannes Schaan: Priests' Council Berlin: Would like to take up a lance for the cath. Breaking sexual morality. Yes, our morals are unworldly, but this shows that we are striving for something different. "The cath. Sexual morality makes you free to choose the good, to avoid the bad" And: I am always ready to accept ridicule and malice for it.
12.27 o'clock
Father Volker Sehy: The fact that the two positions stand so harshly against each other shocked me, but did not surprise me. Listen to pastors who, according to Pope Francis, follow a path of accompaniment, discernment and integration. The can testify that Jesus can touch and heal people in their wounded sexuality. With this, hopefully you can overcome this hard separation.
12.25 o'clock
Isabella Vergata: Speaking for the Catholics of other mother tongues: We have not even come forward so far.
12.24 p.m
Peter Neher, Caritas: Think of your pastors and co-workers who are in the midst of life and have to deal with the people. This reality of life must be included in the discussion. I expect a confession of guilt from the church on the subject of sexual morality. If we work on the topic anew, this must also happen.
12.4 p.m
Home: In many feedbacks you can find the criticism of the ambivalence of modern society.
12.2 p.m
Andrea Heim presents the online survey. Over 5000 inputs again, it renounces literal quotations. "That would be showmanship in this case". Here the two same sides present themselves. Unworldly and helpful.
12.10 a.m
Mock: Two sides: Catholic sexual morality is unworldly. Other side. Catholic sexual morality is helpful and protects against arbitrariness.
12.08 o'clock
Batzing: Our preparation was contentious, in dissent. That is why we have made both sides clear in our preparatory paper.
12.03 o'clock
Batzing: We do not want to change the doctrine, but to expand and open it up. We think this is the right time to do it. Pope Francis also confirms: Teaching continues to evolve.
12.00 o'clock
It is now into the fourth forum on relationships and sexuality. Moderated by Birgit Mock and Bishop Batzing.
11.53 o'clock
Gudrun Lux: We are having mock battles here. This discussion was held in the German economy 30 years ago. When will we have the first female, non-theological vicar general?? We have to tackle concrete changes. Women want to create.
11.52 o'clock
Thomas Arnold, cath. Dresden Academy: We also have to look at intersexuals in a very sober way. We don't need to change our ecclesiastical point of view, we need to look at it better.
11.51 o'clock
Throw in the towel: there are two discussions. What can women do now, and what happens to the ministry?. We have to separate this.
11.50 o'clock
Mara Klein: Speak out against polarization. There is not THE priest. They are all human beings. Please concede this also to us, otherwise we don't need to discuss.
11.47 hrs
Motion to extend the speaking time to 2 minutes: "Not because I want to talk, but because I want to listen."Rejected, because 60 sec. already accepted.
11.45 hrs
There is a discussion in the hall whether the speaking time should be extended. Tumult. Not a unanimous picture, it is voted on.
11.43 pm
Birgit Aschmann, historian. Interjection: Only one minute of speaking time on this important topic is a scandal. I raise a protest. To Bishop Voderholzer: The polarity between man and woman is an invention of 19. Century. Interjection Voderholzer: "I refer to Genesis 1, not to the 19. Century"
11.39 o'clock
Claudia Heim: In pop culture there is the verb "to Meghan Markle". Acting when you are not valued. Young women are no longer willing to endure and hear things: You can't. We can't wait 40 years for something to happen.
11.38 o'clock
Claudia Lucking-Michel, ZdK: It is not only about the women's question, but about whether our church is fit for the future. The continuation of the church depends on it. Women are leaving, we don't have as much time left.
11.37 o'clock
Rosalia Walter: Would all those who want to ordain women also live celibate lives?? The image of priests is idealized. We need completely new images of priests, e.g. in honorary office. Then there would also be women priests.
11.35 p.m
Ursula Becker: When I celebrate funerals, I have to wear a man's robe. But I do not want to accept this posturing.
11.33 o'clock
Sr. Nikola Maria Schmidt: Many come to me and ask: Can I confess with you?? I cannot go to a man? We have to talk about sacraments in principle, they have to be accessible to all who want them. Only then comes the question of the man.
11.31 o'clock
Bishop Voderholzer: We have a common theological basis. Gender polarity is also part of creation, only in this way can there be, for example, the sacrament of marriage. We need to have a deeper understanding about the sacraments.
11.30 p.m
Brigitte Vielhaus, KFD: 20 years ago we experienced prere when we stood up for the rights of women and also lesbians. This is not meant to exert prere, but it is part of the history of KFD and DBK.
11.28 o'clock
A young lady interjects: "What I miss is that women are appreciated as women. We do not have to emulate men, but have our own tasks and talents. Only when we all find our own vocation, then we can inspire again. In Holland, there are many active women in the congregations, but the churches are still empty.
11.27 o'clock
Susanne Schumacher-Godemann, pastoral counselor: Women have the same rights, that's the point of the discussion. Equal rights, equal dignity. "Mary of Magdala took the floor, we as women would like to do the same. In many contexts, as a theologian, I am not allowed to do that. "I think this has to stop"
11.26 o'clock
Speeches are now limited to one minute. "A fundamental debate cannot be held like this, but we get an impression of the opinion picture"
11.15 o'clock
Thees Gundlach, EKD, Protestant Observer: they all dare to perform open-heart surgery, and do so under the greatest possible public scrutiny. Chapeau!
10.39 o'clock
Bishop Gerber presents the responses to the Internet survey on women in the church: "I was surprised to gather input on this topic as a bishop, of all people, so I worked with three women on the topic. Plea: Let's get into the conversation, and not just exchange positions. 23 percent of inputs are for women's ordination, 46 against, 32 percent do not speak on the subject. – The accusation of discrimination comes up again and again.
10.34 o'clock
Dorothea Sattler presents wishes of the preparatory forum: We want to bring the diaconate of women into conversation, with a view to the scientific studies of recent years. 2. We want more women in positions of responsibility. We are the universal Church, and we can also "radiate" from here to the universal Church.
10.28 p.m
Dorothea Sattler: In this subject, where it is difficult to find unanimity, let us always remember that Jesus is here among us. Let us act in his name.
10.11 p.m
Due to time constraints, we will continue directly with the Women in the Church Forum. Bishop Bode: Many male-centered decisions in the church would look different if women had been part of them.
10.20 pm
Bishop Bode: First: I reject the distorted image of priest training, that only coffee is drunk there. 2. My opinion: allowing married priests does not mean abolishing celibacy. I am for both, on the conscious decision to celibacy.
10.4 p.m
Peter Neher (Caritas): Priesthood is not something that one "accepts", but must be shaped. What forms (of community) are there that succeed? – If a priest lives with a spiritual girlfriend he is having an affair, if he has a boyfriend he is "gay", if he lives alone he is at least considered "weird". What do we make of them?
10.2 p.m
Franziska Kleine: I have accompanied many candidates for the priesthood and ask myself the question: For whom is this training actually attractive?? True to life? Realistic? Education must be more oriented to life practice, and not be a "dream construct".
10.1 p.m
Cathedral priest Christian Hermes (Rottenburg-Stuttgart): We priests are simply overtaxed, We must not remain with the status quo of "fear theology". We need to discuss what priesthood really means. The 2. VK also created and brought up new possible offices.
10.10 a.m
Sr. Franziska Dieterle: All this I can also confirm as a religious woman. I often experience the sentence: You are so normal, I can't say that to my pastor. Why are you not a priest? It is about closeness and openness. – Prayer for vocations: What vocations? Maybe they are there, just waiting to be perceived.
10.07 o'clock
Archbishop Koch: It's about Communio – Community. How priests live in community? – We also need a good theology of the priesthood, otherwise we will no longer know what it means to be a priest. Many candidates for the priesthood have to justify their election. "To that store you go now?"
10.06 o'clock
Prof. Emunds: Many candidates for the priesthood say: we are preparing for a profession that is publicly pilloried.
10.04 pm
Pastoral minister: We as pastoral ministers also have the choice between marriage, family and celibacy. We would like to introduce this option?
10.03 Clock:
WB Schwaderlapp: I like to live celibacy, with all its ups and downs. MHG study says first abuse takes place 13.5 years after ordination. What does this mean for us? How can we enable forms of community living to prevent this from happening?
10.02 pm
Dorothea Schmidt (EB Munich/Freising): Why do we have to speak badly of celibacy? We should show and above all understand the beauty of celibacy.
9.58 o'clock
Priests: For us, celibacy was a central theme of formation. Many people fail in their training, especially the best ones. What kind of staff is left?
9.57 p.m
I disagree with the statement that celibacy is not central. In my training, this was a central idea, more than parish work, etc. The best candidates break the Ah, loneliness). What do we need to do as baptized people to support priests? This is part of our job.
9.53 o'clock
Prof. Eberhard Tiefensee, priest, Leipzig: The priesthood in Europe has a smoldering, (wg abuse) festering wound. Like a doctor, we must turn to this wound. We have to look, up to now this has happened too little. – Only after we have looked, then we can talk about dogmatics and textbooks. – "We need to think the unimaginable!"
9.50 pm
Also a lot of criticism and insults. "All German Faculties are Heretical". Nevertheless: most of the reactions are full of sensitivity, compassion, and caring. "I was very impressed by this."(Rev. Dr. Arno Zahlhauer, EB Freiburg)
9.49 o'clock
The topic of women's priesthood comes up relatively rarely in the online survey.
9.47 p.m
Celibacy: survey shows high appreciation for this way of life, more than expected. "I am impressed by priests who are celibate, I know that this is a big hurdle."
9.46 p.m
Priests should be involved in society and not live in a bubble. "Priest in pastoral collective, that's not possible at all" – Being authentic is important, not unctuous and aloof. You need to speak the language of ordinary people, including the language of non-believers.
9.44 p.m
But there is great respect for the ministerial, pastoral role of the priest.
9.42 p.m
The online survey of the synodal theme has brought 5300 requests to speak. Among them few reactions of young people. Many regret that church structures have washed out the priesthood, through bureaucratic obligations. "It has nothing to do with vocation".
9.41 o'clock
Bishop Genn presents the questions to be discussed in the Forum on Priestly Life: 1. What does it mean to be a priest today? 2. Priesthood in the upheaval of secular society 3. Finding personal and sexual identity as a priest 4. Role and alternatives to celibacy
9.30 o'clock
Stephan Butttgereit (ZdK) clarifies the work of the preparatory forum on priestly life today.
9.25 pm
By the way, starting at 2 p.m. we will stream the final press conference live on our site! Those who want to follow the debate will also find the livestream on our site.
9.06 o'clock
It goes into the second day of synod. Three forums will be held today until 13.15 pm will take place. ZdK Vice Karin Kortmann thanks for the women's action in front of Frankfurt Cathedral last night, and for the fact that the talks are so spiritually accompanied. "This is a great action, we should be grateful for it."
7.24 o'clock
Friday, 31. January
21.3 p.m
End of the day. Karin Kortmann also thanks the many observers and companions of the process from abroad. Good night and see you tomorrow!
21.10 a.m
21.00 p.m
Archbishop Schick: The DBK will introduce administrative courts, in four places it will be begun. Lay people and clergy will be in charge there.
20.44 p.m
At the end of the day, Archbishop Ludwig Schick from Bamberg speaks about law, legal culture and administrative jurisdiction in the church.
20.33 o'clock
Heavy number. Six percent of current priesthood candidates were sexually abused in formation.
20.04 Clock
19.58 pm
Bishop Stephan Ackermann, the DBK's commissioner for abuse, talks about the progress made in clarifying and preventing sexual abuse.
19.50 p.m
Ursula Hahmann, ZdK: We have to get the church away from the monarchy, we can learn from other institutions there as well. This will take the voluntary relinquishment of power by bishops.
19.47 o'clock
Frankfurt's city dean Johannes zu Eltz: "We have to deal with the concept of self-commitment, i.e. limiting our own responsibility as decision-makers.
19.45 p.m
Archbishop Stefan Hebe: Our dioceses are different. What I learned in Cologne, I can forget in Hamburg. In Hamburg, the number of new priests is approaching zero. How can I use it to shape the largest diocese in the country in terms of area?? My wish: let's think ahead, find new forms of responsibility, and not simply remodel old ones. By the way, this is also a call to the laity. "The church of tomorrow will be very different from anything we know today."
19.43 pm
Gabriele Klingberg (religious education teacher): from religious education classes. The synodal way is not an ie for the youth, resp. not known. Many people ask themselves: Why should I participate at all??
19.41 o'clock
Auxiliary Bishop Schwaderlapp: I was Vicar General for eight years, and I had power. Power of attorney. But that is of no use to promote a spiritual life, but rather stands in the way in case of doubt. – We must not fall into a tunnel vision on the subject of power and participation. Rather, it is about delighting in the Lord, which is our power.
19.40 o'clock
Christian Gartner (Diocesan Council Eichstatt): Democracy. Not everything is democracy. One can also not vote to abolish the Basic Law. The democracy that exists, we must promote.
19.39 o'clock
Bishop Furst from Stuttgart: If there is fear in the church, transparency is a good remedy. Our mission is to bring salvation, not fear and oppression.
19.38 pm
Council of priests in the diocese of Limburg: Abuse does not only mean sexual abuse. We in Limburg are burned children, we were lied to and deceived. That is why power control is needed in the church.
19.34 o'clock
Delayed we continue into the evening, with the request to limit the speeches to 2 minutes, and to control this as well.
19.00 o'clock
18.00 a.m
Now there is the spiritual impulse with Father Bernd Hagenkord, then dinner, then the remaining requests to speak.
17.55 o'clock
Prof. Thomas Soding: Have we reached the end of the church, or a turning point??
17.52 p.m
Bishop Voderholzer: We must think of the 2. To follow the Second Vatican Council, which sees a clear distinction between laity and clergy. Let us strengthen all baptized Christians to become missionaries of everyday life!
17.48 o'clock
Cardinal Woelki: I feel here the will for departure, I welcome that. But: Dogmatic foundations are not walls to be torn down, but the ground on which we stand. This includes the distinction between clergy and inappropriate clericalism. It takes lay people in leadership roles, but that doesn't make lay people ordained pastors. –
17.47 o'clock
Prelate Peter Neher (Caritas): Power always needs control, the Vatican does not have to decide that. This also has nothing to do with consecration.
17.43 p.m
Should leadership offices in the church be given on a temporary basis, resp. Power to be shared? A survey of pastoral ministers shows a large majority in favor of both ideas.
17.39 p.m
Knop: If the Church wants to be credible with its evangelization, then it must be credible and professional, also in the structures.
17.32 p.m
Knop: One theme that runs through is "women, women, women" – it comes up in every second submission. Otherwise: power often has nothing to do with competence or professionalism in the church.
17.27 hrs
The people of the church also participated in the preparation of the Synodal Way, via an online survey. Prof. Julia Knop presents the results in relation to the question of power in the Church. Results: Across the board, power is equated with office. – Participation is only feigned, decision-makers pretend to be powerless and refer to the next higher level (pastor-bishop-pope).
17.24 o'clock
Power in the church must be service, in the sense of the gospel. But what is not possible in the sense of the Gospel is that some have power and the others do the service. (Claudia Lucking-Michel)
17.23 p.m
Claudia Lucking-Michel: Although we were not the women's forum in the preparation, we find that this is a formative theme of the Synodal Way.
17.9 p.m
Claudia Lucking-Michel (ZdK): "No Taxation without Representation", those who pay church tax should also be involved in the decision-making processes of the church, beyond the church tax councils.
17.06 o'clock
Power and separation of powers: Bishop Wiesemann clarifies the work of the preparatory group.
17.02 o'clock
After the formalities, it is now a matter of content. The meeting is three hours behind schedule, so only a good hour of substantive work left today.
16.28 p.m
The rules of procedure of the Synodal Way were adopted by 187 votes. Applause in the hall. Coffee break.
16.25 p.m
The motion was narrowly defeated.
16.24 o'clock
Big laughter in the hall. Prof. Dr. Birgit Aschmann: We should address each other here by last name and without title. Nowhere are titles as important as in the church. I trade my professor title for your bishop title.
16.08 o'clock
Ulrich Hemel, Federation of Catholic Entrepreneurs: Should the thematic forums be opened to all interested synod members?? That would just complicate everything, and the larger of the church's challenges is more important than the makeup of the forums here.
15.51 p.m
15.43 pm
Thomas Kretschmer (from the diocese of Erfurt): Don't forget the Christians from East and Central Germany (in the composition of the forums). Perhaps our experiences in socialism coincide with the power structures of the church.
15.38 h
Stefan Vesper (Bund Neudeutschland, ex-ZdK Secretary General): There are also people who do not want to participate in forums. And in the end the plenum decides.
15.35 o'clock
WB Steinhauser recalls the 2. Vatican Council. Also at that time there were interventions. "That's not possible", only this way the council became capable of acting. I think it is impossible that we can vote on these lists tonight.
15.34 o'clock
Prelate Peter Neher (Caritas) points out that even the pre-selection of the forum members was not transparent. (Gets partial applause)
15.33 o'clock
In addition to the 30 forum members, those present should elect five more in each case. WB Puff advises that he doesn't even know or assess most of them, and suggests allowing anyone who wants to come to a forum. In his opinion, this does not contradict the statutes of the Synodal Way.
15.10 a.m
Composition of the forums (ZdK/DBK). Father Hans Langendorfer (DBK General Secretary): There must be no factions or groups. It must be possible to communicate openly and confidently in the forums.
14.50 o'clock
Interjection: The voting procedure is much too complicated. One does not understand what is being voted for.
14.42 o'clock
134/78: motion is accepted.
14.35 p.m
SCM member: What about the men who are not bishops, what weight does our voice have? Nevertheless we plead FOR the motion.
14.33 o'clock
Juliane Eckstein, Hochschule St. Georgen speaks out against the motion.
14.32 p.m
Konstantin Bischof, Pastoralreferent: Let us set this sign, and give a special hearing to the voice of women!
14.28 p.m
Motion causes a stir: Resolutions should not only be passed with a 2/3 majority, but also with a 2/3 majority of women present.
14.24 o'clock
The voting modalities cause confusion, also the handling of the voting machines..
14.7 p.m
Lunch break is over, now voting continues on the rules of procedure.
13.50 p.m
13.3 p.m
12.38 p.m
After the decision of the rules of procedure it comes now to the spiritual impulse of Maria Boxberg.
12.29 p.m
ZdK President Sternberg: It is not that the assembly is 50/50 ZdK and DBK. There are also councils of priests, conference of religious superiors, pastoral officers, etc. The statutes were confirmed by the plenary assemblies of ZdK and DBK, if they are now broken, the synodal way has failed for the moment.
12.7 p.m
Bonn city deacon Wolfgang Picken: Why is it not allowed to discuss the statutes? Nearly 100 members do not belong to ZdK or DBK. How can they participate? According to the statutes, only ZdK and DBK members can lead forums
12.4 pm
Simon Hacker, Dominican: I do not belong to DBK or ZdK, is our group really represented? He asks to change the statutes and to give all members the possibility to participate in the forums. Do we trust the spirit of the assembly to develop a life of its own?
12.09 o'clock
Rev. Volker Sehy supports the desire for clear, unambiguous language. He says this leads to equal participation of all concerned.
12.07 o'clock
Finja Weber, altar server: I don't understand these rules of procedure at all, e.g. because of the many Latin terms. Let's speak a language that not only theologians understand!
12.04 a.m
Cardinal Woelki criticizes that there was too little time to deal with the Rules of Procedure. "I am a man, men cannot do two things at the same time"
11.54 pm
11.46 p.m
After explaining the technology to participants, a vote will now be taken on the rules of procedure for the Synodical Way. Karin Kortmann (ZdK Vice President) explains once again the genesis of the Synodal Way.
11.00 a.m
Coffee break! 
10.59 p.m
Archbishop Koch from Berlin: 90 percent of Berliners would not be interested in this inner-church debate. We must ask ourselves the question: What are we good for? If we have no relevance to people, we are superfluous.
10.58 o'clock
Bernhard Ledermann, ZdK: When we talk about abuse, we should also think of the many innocent priests and bishops. Many of them are among us today, and yes quite affable (laughter in the hall).
10.57 h
Rosalia Walter, Kolpingwerk: We have to look at what unites us all here. We are baptized. Jesus went to man and helped him, he did not create tradition and canon law.
10.55 o'clock
Request to speak: I am grateful to all those who are engaging in this process, including the bishops who are having a hard time with this format.
10.49 o'clock
Burkhard Koster – Military chaplaincy: we are on the descending branch! There is a need for action – urgent – there is so much to do!
10.45 o'clock
Sr. Franziska Dieterle: Every abuse is abuse of power. We have to change the mechanisms.
10.40 o'clock
Sr. Philippa Rath: Fear plays a big role in our church. I am shaken anew every time someone comes to me and talks about their fear.
10.35 o'clock
Cardinal Woelki: "For 10 years we have been working on the topic of abuse – on all levels – from prevention to independent processing. It is not that nothing has happened here!"
10.32 p.m
Mara Klein: "I'm standing here as a young, non-heterosexual person, and it's hard for me to. A great sin was committed in the church. "Be affected, you are not the victims!"(meaning)
10.5 p.m
Bishop Overbeck: We must come out of the crisis in a constructive conflict structure.
10.15 o'clock
Prof. Emunnds contradicts Bishop Voderholzer – one should not fundamentally doubt the MHG study0
10:11 AM
BDKJ: We as young people know not only since the MHG study that something must change. We are united by our concern for the future of the church – we must not be afraid of that!
10:09 AM
Bishop Voderholzer: Critical request to speak. He criticizes that the MHG study is not sufficient and thus the basis of the synodal way is missing.
9.58 pm
9.51 o'clock
Thomas Soding: It's up to us – and what we make of it here! No spiritual path succeeds without conversion!
9.46 p.m
After the spiritual impulse we go to work now … Moderators Duo WB Theising and Professor Nothelle take over.
9.30 o'clock
Bishop Bode congratulates the newly appointed Bishop of Augsburg, Bertram Meier, as the longest-serving member of the council. There is great applause
9:27 a.m
Karin Kortmann causes laughter by pointing out that the early mass at 7 am is too early for many people…
9:19 a.m
ZdK Vice-President Karin Kortmann establishes quorum
7.05 h
Thursday, 30.01.19
19.43 p.m
Cardinal Marx speaks the closing words reminds us that here all belong to one church and invites us to Romans – with the canon "Laudate omnes gentes!" the first day here in Frankfurt comes to an end and we wish a good night and say goodbye until tomorrow morning – from 9 o'clock it should go on!
19.41 p.m
It's already clear that Catholic life is very colorful and diverse – worlds collide here – but people still set out on the path together!
19.40 a.m
Christian Gartner, ZdK, Diocese of Eichstatt: "I never wanted to become a priest, I was too much into sex for that. It is not enough to just say that the clergy have screwed up – we have to get out of the crisis together!"
19.33 o'clock
Sr. Phillipa Rath: "I am ashamed of our church – and feel deeply connected to the victims of abuse. I stand here for many women who demand equal rights also for us women. We women religious show that women in leadership can be a matter of course. Who are we to dictate to God the gender of vocations??"
19.11 p.m
"I am a member of this church – although the church system has failed. How would it be if we believe in our own transformation?? We urgently need to clean up our store!" Michaela Labudda
19.12 p.m
Father Kobert from the diocese of Magdeburg talks about his experiences as a priest in the East and calls for the Synodal Way to listen well to one another.
19.02 p.m
I hope that all christians will have respect and care for each other, christ is in our midst, that is how we should speak and talk to each other
18.49 p.m
"The expectations for our synodical journey are very high! Will we do you justice!"ZdK President Sternberg during his opening address.
18.34 o'clock
18.05 h
17.40 p.m
Cardinal Marx in his opening sermon: "We have to change our perspective again – there is no departure – no new beginning without CHANGE – we can learn this! Let us trust in the faithfulness of God" Now live on our site.
16.57 p.m
16.37 p.m
The complete recording of the press conference
16.27 h
After press conference, Marx Sternberg in lockstep. It is clear that both want and need a successful start here in Frankfurt so that the journey does not end before it has really begun. Right from 5 p.m. live the Eucharistic celebration for the opening of the first synodal assembly from St. Bartholomew's Cathedral.
15.41 o'clock
Cardinal Marx calls for community: "I hope that all Christians will have respect and treat each other with care. Christ is in our midst, this is how we should speak and act." Opening press conference underway in Frankfurt.
14.30 p.m
In the Bartholomaus Cathedral in Frankfurt today is also our site at home and broadcasts live in picture and sound the opening service at 5 p.m.