Bishop Franz Jung of Würzburg has publicly acknowledged that one of the main problems of the German Synodal Way was the lack of coordination and communication with Rome, an admission especially significant in a process that for years has caused strong tensions with the Vatican and fears of doctrinal drift within the Church in Germany.
In an interview given to the Catholic channel K-TV during the Katholikentag held in Würzburg, Jung compared the current Synodal Way with the historic Würzburg Assembly of the 1970s, emphasizing that at that time there was a constant search for communion with the Holy See which, according to his admission, “was lacking” in the recent German synodal process.
“Communication with Rome was lacking”
The bishop especially recalled the figure of Cardinal Julius Döpfner, then president of the German Bishops’ Conference and main promoter of the Würzburg Assembly held between 1971 and 1975 after the Second Vatican Council.
According to Jung, Döpfner acted “very intelligently” because “in every step he took, he again sought coordination with Rome.”
“There we saw that this was also lacking in the Synodal Way: asking again how communication was going with those responsible in Rome. We are not following a special path; we want to take the next steps together with the Church,” the German bishop stated.
A partial recognition, but not a doctrinal correction
However, Jung’s statements do not imply a renunciation of many of the reforms promoted by the Synodal Way.
In fact, during the interview the bishop insisted that several of the debates currently open in Germany have been present in the Church for decades: the question of the viri probati, the role of women, the possibility of lay preaching, or greater lay participation in ecclesial structures.
“Many questions that still occupy us today were already on the table back then,” he said, recalling the Würzburg Assembly.
This reflects a reality that is becoming increasingly evident within the German episcopate: some bishops are beginning to recognize that the “method” of the Synodal Way generated serious tensions with Rome, but without truly abandoning much of the ecclesial reforms that drove the process.
Leo XIV, unity against “nationalisms”
During the interview, Jung also referred to the new pontificate of Leo XIV, highlighting in particular his episcopal motto: In illo uno unum (“In the One who is One, we are one”), taken from St. Augustine. The bishop said he was especially impressed by the Pope’s insistence on unity against “nationalisms” and “self-interests.”
“There is for us a binding center which is Christ,” Jung stated, adding that the Church must work for communion and not for particular paths.
The words of the German bishop appear to reflect a growing concern within some ecclesial sectors in Germany about the risk of isolation and fragmentation that the Synodal Way has generated during the last few years.