Increasing numbers of European theologians have signed onto a set of
proposals they say will “renew” the struggling German Church.
But while
the German bishops say they are willing to hold discussions, they have
indicated that the proposal re-treads old ground and contradicts
important Catholic convictions.
As of Feb. 15, 227 theologians from three German-speaking countries
had signed their names to a letter entitled “The Church in 2011: A
necessary departure,” which was first endorsed by 143 signatories on
Feb. 3.
Issues of sexuality, authority, and cultural adaptation dominated the
statement, which used revelations of sexual abuse at Berlin's Canisius
school – revealed in early 2010, approximately three decades after they
occurred – as the jumping-off point for a series of wide-ranging
proposals.
“The deep crisis of our Church,” the theologians wrote, “demands that
we address even those problems which, at first glance, do not have
anything directly to do with the abuse scandal and its decades-long
cover-up.”
Many German Catholics, they said, have come to believe that
“deep-reaching reforms are necessary.”
The theologians' program of “reform” would involve greater lay
participation in selecting bishops and pastors, increased tolerance for
different styles of liturgical worship, and a decisive break with what
they described as attitudes of “paternalism” and “moral rigorism.”
More specifically, the theologians asserted that “the Church also needs married priests and women in church ministry.”
For this reason, the letter has been regarded in the international
media as a call for an “end to celibacy.”
The text itself, however, only
indicated a preference for making the Latin rite practice of priestly
celibacy optional, rather than mandatory.
Although some interpreters regarded the statement on women in
ministry as a call for women's ordination, it was not clear whether the
statement carried this meaning, or merely acknowledged the important
roles women have always played in the life of the Church.
They went on to state that “the Church's esteem for marriage … does
not require that we exclude people who responsibly live out love,
faithfulness, and mutual care in same-sex partnerships or in a
remarriage after divorce.”
Referring to German Catholics' declining participation in Church
life, the theologians indicated that the answer lay in modifying the
Church's approach so that it agrees more with the surrounding culture.
“When it comes to acknowledgment of each person's freedom, maturity,
and responsibility, modern society surpasses the Church in many
respects,” they wrote. “As the Second Vatican Council emphasized, the
Church can learn from this.”
The theologians did not indicate which portion of the Vatican II documents they were referring to, in advancing this claim.
Fr. Hans Langendörfer, secretary for the German bishops' conference,
responded to the letter on their behalf on Feb. 8.
He expressed
appreciation for the theologians' engagement with the state of the
German Church, acknowledging that they had raised “weighty issues” that
should “no longer be avoided.”
But Fr. Langendörfer noted that the proposals had been made with some frequency in the past.
“In essence,” he said, “the memorandum gathers once again ideas
already often debated.”
Many of these ideas, he said, were “in
disagreement with the theological convictions and statements of the
Church at the highest level.”
Fr. Langendörfer said that the next meeting of the German Bishops'
Conference would seek to respond to the theologians' concerns, in cases
where “urgent further clarification” was needed.
German Cardinal Walter Kasper, president emeritus of the Pontifical
Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, responded to the
theologians' letter by highlighting the importance of celibacy.
In a
Feb. 6 homily at the Church of Santa Maria dell’Anima in Rome, he
described celibacy as a “sign that exists for Christ and for the Kingdom
of God.”
The cardinal referred to the gospel passage which says Christians
should be the “salt of the earth” and said that celibacy “is that pinch
of salt that not everyone can be, but that brings good to all.”
Peter Seewald, the German journalist who recently collaborated with
Pope Benedict XVI on the book “Light of the World,” was less restrained
in his own comments on the theologians' manifesto.
Seewald told the German website Kath.net that the open letter was “a
rebellion in the nursing home,” orchestrated by “chief priests of the
zeitgeist” whose priority was to accommodate public opinion.