An influential German Catholic lay leader has called for the ordination
of married men, saying that the Church in Germany should not wait for
permission from Rome.
“I wonder when bishops will finally have the courage to do this,” said
Thomas Sternberg, the former chairman of the Central Committee of German
Catholics (ZdK). “We cannot keep waiting for Rome.”
Sternberg pointed to the steep decline in priestly ordinations in
Germany - a drop of roughly 85% since 1990 - and the severe shortage of
priests that looms as a result.
The ZdK partnered with the German bishops’ conference to organize the Synodal Path.
