In a Q&A with OSV News, Seewald takes a look at the legacy of the German pope he studied and who, he said, "will be canonized some day."
The "ad limina" visits of the bishops of Germany were unusual in several respects and were dominated by discussion of the German church's Synodal Path.
The pilgrimage to Rome Nov. 14-18 brought 63 German bishops to the Vatican meetings; usually members of such
Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Aachen Auxiliary Bishop Johannes Bündgens, 66, who was convicted of taking nearly $128,000 from an acquaintance believed to be suffering from dementia.
"It is good for all sides that the pope has made a swift decision," Aachen
The fourth plenary assembly of the Synodal Path in Frankfurt ended Sept. 10 with a series of far-reaching reform resolutions.
They concern, for example, the position of women and trans people in the church, sexual morality, gay priests and the future national leadership
The plenary assembly of the German Synodal Path meeting in Frankfurt Sept. 8-10 will start by debating a 32-page text on sexual morality, which could be adopted at the meeting, as could eight other texts, some of which contain far-reaching proposals for
Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, said he continues to have confidence in the Synodal Path of the Catholic Church in Germany.
"Perhaps the communication on the reform project could have been better," Cardinal Grech said in an interview with
The Diocese of Trier transferred alleged or convicted perpetrators of abuse to new locations in and outside the diocese, where they reoffended against young people and children, said an independent commission's interim report on abuse in the diocese from 1946 to 2021.
The
Missio, one of Germany's Pontifical Mission Societies, marked the third World Day Against Witch Hunts Aug. 10 by warning that the phenomenon is on the increase worldwide.
The German Catholic news agency KNA said that in at least 43 countries, women, but also
"It seems necessary to make it clear that the 'Synodal Path' in Germany does not have the power to compel bishops and the faithful to assume new modes of governance and new approaches to doctrine and morals," said an unsigned "declaration of
For the first time in the history of Germany, less than half the German population registered as members of one of the two large churches: Catholic and Protestant.
New figures on church membership resignations have come as a shock to many, reported the