“What can you contribute to the life of the church on the ground?”

The Catholic Church in Germany is on the Synodal Way. Now Erfurt Bishop Ulrich Neymeyr has appealed to Catholics in his diocese to play an active role in shaping the current reform dialogue.

In a Lenten pastoral letter published Wednesday, he calls them to "ask yourself how important to your faith is church community and what you would like to change about the community of Christians". At the same time, the bishop invites Catholics to ask themselves during Lent what they can contribute "to the life of the Church on the ground".

Neymeyr recalled that the nationwide Catholic reform project "Synodal Way" had its origins in the abuse scandal. "Those responsible have often not investigated accusations carefully enough because they did not believe the people involved or because the reputation of the priests and the church was more important to them," the pastoral letter says. "This forces us bishops to reflect on how we handle our responsibility and how it is controlled."

Synodal path set for two years

Moreover, there is a "glaring contradiction between the worst sexual offenses committed and the demanding sexual morality of the Catholic Church," the bishop writes further. "The contemporary communication of Catholic ideas on the shaping of gender must be reconsidered."

In their reform dialogue on the Synodal Way, the German Catholic bishops and the Central Committee of Catholics want to discuss the future of church life in Germany. One goal is to regain trust lost after the abuse scandal.

The initiative, which has never existed in this form in the Catholic Church, is designed for an initial period of two years. The main topics of the reform dialogue are sexual morality, the priestly way of life, power and the separation of powers, and the role of women in the church.

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Christina Cherry
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