Pope Francis’ first-in-command has threatened the German episcopate with excommunication due to increasingly liberal policies.
Hungarian newspaper Mandiner reported on a letter sent by Secretary of State Pietro Parolin to the German episcopate indicating that if “the German daughter church wanted to accept homosexual relationships or attempt to ordain women as priests,” it would be disowned by the Catholic Church.
This is the result of a “synodal journey” by the German particular church over several years. While a Synod of Bishops on Synodality was held in the Vatican in October under the leadership of Pope Francis, the German Church, led by the secular Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), has been on a very different reform path since 2019. This has led to the initiation of fundamental doctrinal changes in the church and has brought it close to schism.
Pope Francis had already sent a letter to the German bishops in 2019, warning of the danger of schism and stressing the value of unity. In fact, the Vatican has expressed its dissatisfaction with the Germans’ direction of travel no fewer than eight times since 2019.
Paradoxically, Pope Francis himself seems to follow the German line. According to internal reports, the German-dominated reformist wing in northern Europe elected him Pope, and the Argentine church is funded by the German church, giving the Germans the false view that it is now dictating policy at the Vatican.
Pope Francis’ changes in opinion are hard to follow, and it is not entirely clear whether or not he has now personally given the go-ahead for liberalization on LGBTQ issues (among others), because his sometimes contradictory statements can be confusing.
The same is true of the much-touted decentralization: There have been occasional signals from Pope Francis that he sees the declining Anglican Church as a model and wants to give greater freedom to national episcopates, referring to himself for a long time as the Bishop of Rome.
However, he also holds the reins tightly in the background, sometimes unequivocally proclaiming that the Pope’s word is the ultimate guide.
