The final assembly of the German Synodal Way took place in Frankfurt March 9-11, where 230 bishops and lay representatives discussed issues such as blessings for homosexual couples, the ordination of women, a relaxation of mandatory celibacy and greater church involvement for lay people.
The agenda, with 10 resolution texts, reflected the will of the local church to “arrive at visible changes,” the president of the German Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, said in Frankfurt March 9. “This church deserves that we do not leave it as it is,” the German news agency KNA reported him saying.
The president of the Central Committee of German Catholics, Irme Stetter-Karp, said that looking back on the process so far, “there were phases of disappointment, of anger and of despair, but also phases of euphoria and of successful cooperation. Now we have to prove that we were worthy of the trust so many people placed in us.”
On March 10, KNA reported, the assembly decided that in the near future, there will be blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples in the Catholic Church in Germany. It also said people who have divorced and then remarried in a civil partnership also should be able to have their relationships blessed in the Catholic Church.
Following a controversial debate, KNA wrote, the Synodal Path reform project adopted a corresponding text in Frankfurt on March 10, with a majority of over 90%. The paper recommends developing and introducing appropriate liturgical celebrations and ceremonies.
Of the 58 bishops who voted, 38 voted in favour, nine voted against and 11 abstained. Since abstentions in the vote on the Synodal Path are counted as votes not cast, the result was counted as a majority of just under 81% in favour. Twenty votes against would have been enough to reject the text, since according to the statutes, the bishops must approve decisions with a two-thirds majority.