Women’s ordination, transgender ideology move forward at German Synodal Way

Delegates at the fifth assembly of the German Synodal Way, meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, on March 11, 2023, applaud after the he passage of a text calling for changes to the German Church’s approach to gender identity.

Delegates of the German Synodal Way on Saturday overwhelmingly passed measures to change Church practices based on transgender ideology and to push the universal Church to ordain women to the sacramental diaconate.

The votes took place on the final day of the process’ concluding assembly, held in Frankfurt March 9-11. On previous days, delegates voted overwhelmingly to adopt same-sex blessings, normalize lay preaching, and ask Rome to “reexamine” the discipline of priestly celibacy.

While the Germans pushed forward with these controversial measures, the assembly held back from crossing a line laid down by the Vatican concerning the establishing synodal councils at the national, diocesan, and parochial levels. The Vatican has said the synodal council model, which involves shared governance between bishops and the laity, is not consistent with Catholic ecclesiology.

The synodal assembly decided to delay voting on the proposal. Instead, it will be considered by a newly established synodal committee over the next three years, while Synodal Way leadership attempts to change the minds of Vatican officials and garner more widespread approval in the universal Church.

At the concluding press conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, president of the bishops’ conference, said that the results give a mandate to the bishops to make some changes in Germany now while pushing for broader reform.

“The Church is visibly changing, and that is important,” Bätzing said.

Irme Stetter-Karp, president of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), said the results show that the synodal path in Germany will continue.

“It does not end here. It is just the beginning,” she said.

Observers, including 103 international bishops who signed a letter warning that the Synodal Way could lead to schism, have expressed concern about the heterodox ideas promoted by the process and the effect it could have on the wider Church if the Vatican does not sufficiently intervene.

Vote on gender ideology

The implementation text “Dealing with gender diversity” passed with support from 96% of the 197 voting delegates. Thirty-eight bishops voted for it, while only seven voted against it. Thirteen abstained from voting.

Consistent with a pattern running throughout the assembly, there would have been enough votes to block the measure if those abstaining had voted against it. Critics of the Synodal Way say that organizers’ removal of the secret ballot has created a fear-driven atmosphere that has prohibited many bishops from voting freely.

The resolution calls for “concrete improvements for intersex and transgender faithful,” including changing baptism records to match someone’s self-identified gender, banning one’s gender identity from consideration for pastoral ministerial roles, and mandatory education for priests and church employees to “deal with the topic of gender diversity.” Intersex refers to people born with mixed sexual characteristics.

The text also bars “external sexual characteristics” from being used as a criterion for “accepting a man as a candidate for the priesthood,” a measure that could open the door for attempted ordinations of women.

During the debate, a small minority of bishops voiced opposition to the measure, while emphasizing that the Church should improve its pastoral care of those identifying as transgender. Auxiliary Bishop Stefan Zekorn of Bistum Münster said he could not support a text based on gender ideology, while Bishop Stefen Oster of Passau said that the document failed to emphasize that a Christian’s primary identity should be rooted in Jesus Christ.

But the vast majority of those who spoke expressed support for the measure. Gregor Podschun, the head of the heterodoxical Federation of German Catholic Youth, said the claims of gender ideology were “a scientific fact,” and that the Church’s denial was causing people to commit suicide. Julianne Eckstein, a professor of theology at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, claimed that the book of Genesis was an inadequate basis for questions of sexual anthropology. And Viola Kohlberger, a young adult from Augsburg, said that there is no “norm” for gender and that the tradition of the Catholic Church was holding back progress.

“And I would like to break it today,” she said.

When the vote passed, delegates stood to applaud, while some unfurled rainbow flags expressing support for homosexuality and transgender ideology.

Support for women’s ordination

Delegates passed the implementation text “Women in sacramental ministry: Perspectives for the universal Church dialogue” by a similarly large margin. Only 10 of 58 bishops voted against the measure, which calls for the German bishops to advance the issue of the sacramental ordination of women at the continental and universal level of the Church.

A motion adopted by the assembly replaced a call for the establishment of a “sacramental diaconate of women” with “opening the sacramental diaconate for women.” The distinction made clear that the Synodal Way is pushing for women to be integrated into already existing holy orders, an idea the Church has repeatedly affirmed is impossible.

Delegates adopted another motion that modified priorities related to the all-male priesthood, calling for the practice to be simply reexamined, rather than ended, at the universal level of the Church. Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising said that the motion was needed to “build consensus” for changes to the Church’s dogmatic teaching related to the priesthood.

Others were less interested in the slow approach. Several women delegates were seen in tears after the vote, saddened that the text did not more explicitly call for female priests.

“Discriminating against someone because of their gender must be put to an end in the Catholic Church,” said delegate Susanne Schumacher-Godemann.

“The patriarchy needs to be destroyed,” added Podschun.

Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg spoke up in opposition to the text, characterizing the push for ordaining women to the diaconate as “a first step toward opening up” the priesthood and the episcopacy, too.

The Regensburg bishop, a close friend of Pope Benedict XVI, is one of only three German bishops to have publicly voted against each of the Synodal Way’s controversial texts.

The synodal assembly also elected 20 members to the transitory synodal committee that will work over the next three years to prepare for the establishment of a permanent synodal council at the national level. The 20 elected members, which consisted of 19 laypeople and one auxiliary bishop, will join the 27 bishops who head dioceses and 27 members of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) already on the committee.

The Synodal Way, which began in 2019, has been a collaborative effort between the ZdK and the German bishops’ conference.

Complete Article ↪HERE↩!

March 10, 2023March 10, 2023

French Catholics want to change view on homosexuality

— Some French bishops want to reformulate the view of the Roman Catholic Church on homosexuality. To that end, they are working on some proposals.

The clergy want more attention to pastoral care for homosexuals in the Church, La Croix writes. Last week Tuesday, members of the Reconnaissance Association, an organisation for parents of homosexual people that pleads for more consideration for them in the Church, met in the Archdiocese of Sens-Auxerre.

Taboo

According to La Croix, the trends in society to lift the taboo on homosexuality and make better care for gay people available have pushed the Church to reconsider its position on homosexuality.

In addition, some bishops want to reformulate the official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. Therefore, they want to revise the Catholic Catechism, which deals with homosexuality in paragraphs 2357, 2357, 2359 and 2396. Especially the wording of paragraph 2396 that calls acts of homosexuality intrinsically disordered is a thorn in the side of some clergy.

Discernment

According to Archbishop Hervé Giraud, the process of reconsidering homosexuality in the French Roman Catholic Church has been ongoing since the ad limina visit to Rome in 2021. Since then, several bishops have been working on revising the doctrine. Archbishop Giraud says these proposals “must obviously be examined by the competent dicastery and submitted to the discernment of the Pope.”

At the same time, it is not likely that the trends in the French Church will lead to a change in the official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church in general. A source in Vatican City tells La Croix that he does not see a fundamental change taking place “because the question of homosexuality actually engages more than itself: the anthropology and sexual morality of the Church.”

Questions

Therefore, the main goal of the French clergy is to make the topic more audible. To that end, the National Family and Society Service of the Conference of Bishops of France has ordered three theologians to work on some commonly asked questions on the topic and answer them. In the process, they involved homosexual people and associations that specialise in homosexuality in the Church.

Complete Article ↪HERE↩!

March 10, 2023March 10, 2023

In accusing Cardinal McElroy of heresy, Bishop Paprocki was aiming higher

— The American episcopate’s anti-Francis faction takes it to a new level.

Cardinal Robert McElroy, from left, Pope Francis and Bishop Thomas Paprocki.

By Mark Silk

On Feb. 28, the Catholic bishop of Springfield, Illinois, Thomas Paprocki, accused the newest American cardinal, San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy, of heresy.

Not that Paprocki made so bold as to call out McElroy by name. In a Feb. 28 essay, “Imagining a Heretical Cardinal,” on the website of the magazine First Things, the bishop began by quoting directly from an article McElroy had published in the Jesuit magazine America a month earlier:

Imagine if a cardinal of the Catholic Church were to publish an article in which he condemned “a theology of eucharistic coherence that multiplies barriers to the grace and gift of the eucharist” and stated that “unworthiness cannot be the prism of accompaniment for disciples of the God of grace and mercy.”

Anyone who plugged the quotes into a search engine did not have to imagine for long.

Newly created Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, bishop of San Diego, attends a reception for relatives and friends in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican on Aug. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) — Newly created Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, bishop of San Diego, attends a reception for relatives and friends in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican on Aug. 27, 2022.

Paprocki then proceeded to a second imaginary: “Or what if a cardinal of the Catholic Church were to state publicly that homosexual acts are not sinful and same-sex unions should be blessed by the Church?”

Public statements along those lines have been made by Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, not McElroy — though a reader might think otherwise. In his America article, McElroy concerned himself with the question of whether access to the Eucharist should be permitted to the divorced and remarried and to sexually active LGBT people.

Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki in 2018. Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois — Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki in 2018.

McElroy took the position that members of both groups should be so permitted for the reasons of “eucharistic conherence” that Paprocki quoted in his response. The Springfield bishop pronounced the remarks heretical and proceeded to cite canon law indicating that those holding heretical views are automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church.

But, Paprocki continued, since a cardinal can only be removed from office by the pope, one who is automatically excommunicated (i.e., McElroy) might get to vote for the next pope. “We must pray,” Paprocki piously concluded, “that the Holy Spirit will not let this happen, and will inspire anyone who espouses heretical views to renounce them and seek reconciliation with our Lord and his Church.”

I guess Paprocki figured there’s no way the present pope would himself avert the danger by removing the heretical cardinal in question from office. And with good reason.

After all, in his 2013 apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium” (The Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis wrote:

The Eucharist, although it is the fullness of sacramental life, is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak. These convictions have pastoral consequences that we are called to consider with prudence and boldness. Frequently, we act as arbiters of grace rather than its facilitators. But the Church is not a tollhouse; it is the house of the Father, where there is a place for everyone, with all their problems.

In his 2016 exhortation “Amoris Laetitia” (Love’s Happiness), Francis declared that it “can no longer simply be said that all those in any ‘irregular’ situation are living in a state of mortal sin and are deprived of sanctifying grace.” And that “science needs to be better incorporated into the Church’s praxis in certain situations which do not objectively embody our understanding of marriage.”

And: “At times we find it hard to make room for God’s unconditional love in our pastoral activity. We put so many conditions on mercy that we empty it of its concrete meaning and real significance.”

Pope Francis speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the Vatican, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Francis acknowledged that Catholic bishops in some parts of the world support laws that criminalize homosexuality or discriminate against the LGBTQ community, and he himself referred to homosexuality in terms of "sin." But he attributed attitudes to culture backgrounds, and said bishops in particular need to undergo a process of change to recognize the dignity of everyone. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) — Pope Francis speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the Vatican, Jan. 24, 2023.

Did I mention that, to the consternation of some conservative prelates and laity, the pope in fact did, in Chapter 8 of “Amoris Laetitia,” give bishops the power to grant divorced and remarried persons access to the Eucharist?

No one should have the slightest doubt that the McElroy remarks condemned as heresy by Paprocki convey precisely Francis’ magisterial teaching — indeed, that the pope’s injunction to “make room for God’s unconditional love in our pastoral activity” is clearly mirrored in McElroy’s advocacy of a “radical inclusion” of some people whose sexual activity outside of church-sanctioned marriage violates church doctrine.

If McElroy pushed the envelope, it was by extending the pope’s principles to sexually active LGBTQ persons. But that’s not where Paprocki brought his hammer down. He brought it down on the principles themselves — effectively applying the same automatic excommunication he assigned to McElroy to Francis himself.

It’s hard to imagine a bishop affronting any other pope in this way with impunity.

Complete Article ↪HERE↩!

March 6, 2023March 6, 2023

Archbishop of Canterbury offers to stand down, as England OKs gay-union blessings

By Terry Mattingly

In England, proclaiming God’s blessing on same-sex relationships has become the new orthodoxy for clergy with established ties to the powers that be.

But not in Nigeria and the Global South, where Anglican leaders have urged the Church of England to consider the impact of its actions on believers facing conflict with Jihadi terrorists.

“I am genuinely torn by this,” said Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, about an appeal for General Synod leaders to consult with Anglican primates around the world before proceeding. “It isn’t just about listening to the rest of the world – it’s caring. Let’s just be clear on that. It’s about people who will die, women who will be raped, children who will be tortured.

“So, when we vote, we need to think of that. It’s not just about what people will say – it is about what they will suffer.”

But after years of tense dialogues and visiting war zones, Welby told the synod to proceed. Thus, the General Synod bishops, clergy and laity voted 250-181 to offer blessing rites for same-sex couples married by the state – while retaining church doctrine that marriage is between a man and a woman.

“For the first time, the Church of England will publicly, unreservedly and joyfully welcome same-sex couples in church,” said Welby and Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, in their Feb. 9 statement. Anglicans have “deep differences on these questions which go to the heart of our human identity.”

This move angered LGBTQ activists who said mere “blessings” were not enough, while leaders of giant Anglican churches in Africa and Asia also rejected the compromise.

Welby said he had little or no choice, when addressing a Feb. 12 meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in Accra, Ghana.

After the synod vote, he said, “I was summoned twice to Parliament and threatened with parliamentary action to force same-sex marriage on us, called in England ‘equal marriage.'”

As always, the question was whether changes in the Church of England, the Episcopal Church in America, the Anglican Church of Canada and other shrinking – but often wealthy – First World churches could change the shape of the 42-province Anglican Communion.

In Ghana, Welby said the institutions that guide the communion “must change with the times.” While the “role of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the See of Canterbury, is an historic one,” he said, “I will not cling to place or position. I hold it very lightly, provided that the other Instruments of Communion choose the new shape, that we are not dictated to by people, blackmailed, bribed to do what others want us to do, but that we act in good conscience before God seeking a judge that is not for our power, but exists for the new world with its extraordinary and terrifying threats.”

The next day, 12 leaders of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches – representing about 75% Anglicans who attend worship rites – agreed with part of Welby’s blunt assessment of the crisis.

While seeking to “keep the unity of the visible Church and the fabric of the Anglican Communion” the Global South leaders released a document stating that they could not share Holy Communion with “provinces that have departed from the historic faith and taken the path of false teaching.” Also, the fellowship said it would no longer recognize Welby as the “first among equals” among national-church Anglican leaders.

“With the Church of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury forfeiting their leadership role,” they said, Anglicanism’s “orthodox” primates across the global communion will meet to “work out the shape and nature of our common life together” because “for us, and perhaps by his own reported self-exclusion, the present Archbishop of Canterbury is no longer the … Chair of the Primates’ Meeting by virtue of his position.”

Uganda Archbishop Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu stressed that there will be no Anglican compromise this time around.

“The only significant difference between a wedding and a service of ‘blessing’ is the terminology used,” he said, in a public statement. “The Church of England insists it is not changing its doctrine of marriage. But, in practice, they are doing precisely that. …

“But, what I want you to know is that if it looks like a wedding, and sounds like a wedding … it IS a wedding.”

Complete Article ↪HERE↩!

March 2, 2023March 1, 2023

LGBT+ History Month

— Navigating faith as a gay man

Numair Masud found it “impossible” to express his sexuality growing up in Pakistan

By Liz Clements

“I spent a great deal of my time in the shadows, hiding. That is not a happy existence for anyone.”

Dr Numair Masud from Cardiff used to practise Islam but left his faith as he felt he could not express his sexuality but instead had to hide it.

But for David Williamson and Matthew Dicken, from Cwmbran their experience couldn’t be more different – they are looking forward to receiving a church blessing when they get married in May.

“Being same sex attracted and being a Christian are not mutually exclusive. They can co-exist,” according to David.

During LGBT+ History Month three gay men share their views on their respective faiths – a relationship that is historically complicated with views varying from person to person in diverse religions across the world.

‘You can be persecuted by law’

Raised in a Muslim family in Pakistan, Dr Masud found it “impossible” to express his sexuality there.

“It was an upbringing of repression and oppression,” said the 32-year-old.

“By virtue of being in love with the same sex, you can be persecuted by law. There was fear because you don’t want the truth to come out because it can harm you.”

Mosque in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan — In Pakistan, where Dr Masud was born, homosexuality is illegal

In Pakistan homosexuality is illegal and punishable by possible life imprisonment.

Numair moved to the UK to start a degree in zoology in Bristol and then moved to Cardiff to study for his PhD.

Navigating his identity as a gay man he became critical of his relationship with Islam and decided to leave the faith.

When he fell in love with another man, Numair realised he could not and would not return to Pakistan.

In 2017 he claimed and was granted asylum in the UK and now lives in Cardiff working as a research scientist at Cardiff University.

“Perhaps the most important freedom of all that I discovered, was the freedom to be able to help others through learning from my own trials and tribulations, to be able to help others discover their own voice”, he said.

Numair is now an LGBTQ+ activist, helping others who struggle to reconcile their sexuality and religion.

Dr Numair Masud — Dr Masud is a research scientist in Cardiff

He worries that there is a danger when faith informs potentially harmful views.

“You have a right to believe in what you want, but the moment your belief when acted upon harms me or anyone else or any other community, that is unacceptable”, he said.

He acknowledges his experiences are personal and there are LGBTQ+ Muslims who are able to continue practising their faith.

While some attitudes are changing towards LGBTQ+ people in Muslim communities he personally was unable to do this.

“It feels bittersweet, because I’ve had to give up a lot in my life to be where I am today. Saying goodbye to the people you love is not easy,” he reflects.

“The sweet element, the sense of joy comes from realising that I have the freedom to be myself and find love, to love and be loved without too much judgement here in Wales… I’m so thankful and grateful for that.”

While Numair struggled, for David and Matthew, their religion is at the heart of their relationship.

‘Celebrate our love’

In just under three months, Matthew, 34 and David, 46 will tie the knot in Cardiff’s City Hall.

But what the couple, who are members of the Church in Wales, are most excited for is a blessing at Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff.

It will be the first blessing of its kind at the 12th Century cathedral.

“People have worshipped on this site for over 1,000 years, so there’s something special about that and to be able to celebrate our love there,” headteacher Matthew said.

The couple who live in Cwmbran have been together for two years but met years earlier.

Matthew and David’s individual journeys with sexuality have been different and complicated at times.

“Growing up, I always knew I was same-sex attracted but that was something to keep hidden or not talk about,” said David, who now works as executive assistant to the Bishop of Llandaff.

“It took me until my 30s to accept that for myself, and then a journey to actually see I’m still a person of faith, and my relationship with God is fundamentally intrinsic to who I am,” he added.

“I’d love to be able to say that everyone’s accepting but that’s not my full experience,” said Matt.

‘Difficult conversations’

“People have quoted little bits of scripture from out of context and that has happened to us.

“We’re not going to pretend it’s easy, but our understanding is based on the fundamental thing of love,” he said.

“Being same sex attracted and being a Christian are not mutually exclusive. They can co-exist,” David added.

The couple said there are “ways to conduct debate carefully”, and despite difficult conversations or upsetting remarks, they believe things are progressing.

“I think the Church in Wales are really trying to be inclusive, and that’s so important. Communities of faith are on their own journey as well,” Matt said.

“It’s difficult to try and forge a way forward and accepting and blessing something that’s different from what has been, for however many centuries.”

‘Celebrate love in all its variety’

In September 2021, the Church in Wales’ governing body voted in favour of offering blessings to gay marriages or civil partnerships. In theological terms, a blessing is God’s approval.

The first same-sex blessing was in November that year.

The blessing is currently being used experimentally for five years, but individual clergy can decide whether to bless partnerships.

Earlier this month, the Church of England backed proposals to allow same-sex blessings there, as is already granted in Wales, but the topic proved divisive.

An amendment to force a vote on changing the Church’s teaching and allowing gay couples to marry in Church was rejected during the eight-hour debate in the Church of England’s national assembly.

In Wales the law prohibits same-sex marriages by the Church in Wales.

Andy John, Archbishop of Wales — In 2021, the Archbishop of Wales, The Most Rev Andrew John said same-sex weddings could be held in churches in Wales in five years

In 2021, the Archbishop of Wales, The Most Rev Andrew John said same-sex weddings could be held in churches in Wales in five years and should “welcome people, where they are, who they are”.

Matthew agrees changing the rules on same-sex marriage in churches in Wales could mean inclusion for more people.

“It needs to move forward I believe to be more accepting and to celebrate love in all its variety. I think there is a sense of urgency, because you lose people, not only to a church building or congregation, you lose people to faith,” he said.

For now though, both Matthew and David cannot wait for their special day.

“To celebrate our love for each other and our love for God and wanting to seek God’s blessing on our relationship and to be able to do that publicly in a place of worship is just more than we ever thought would be possible.”

Complete Article ↪HERE↩!