Synod way: Church reform in the Corona mode

The Coronavirus has no respect for the Catholic Church to reform Stop. Actually, the approximately 230 members of the reform project wanted to "Synod" in the way of a month, from 3. to 5. September to make its second meeting in Frankfurt. But nothing will come of it. In order to keep the risk of Infection as low as possible and to be able to the distance and hygiene rules to comply with, the organisers have decided to a major Change: The German bishops ' conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics plan held a joint meeting of all Synod this Time, decentralised small-scale formats.

Tobias Rösmann

editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

Under the Motto "Five-places – a way", there will be five one-day regional Meetings, of course, again in Frankfurt, but in Berlin, Dortmund, Munich and Ludwigshafen. In each case, approximately 50 participants will be on Friday, may 4. September, at five places at the same time from 10 to 18 o'clock come together to make the reform project, at the very least, pause.

With the common path of Reform of the clergy and laity, the Catholic Church wants to draw the consequence of the sexual abuse in their own ranks. The Synodal Assembly of the 230 participants is the Supreme body, but now it needs to go in smaller groups. The distribution of the meeting places of the Republic will also guarantee a shorter and less dangerous routes.

"In a corona moderately condensed Form"

the Presidium of The Synodal path understands the regional conferences, according to their own words, as "an intermediate step toward the second Synodal Assembly". To from the instead of at the beginning of September 4. to 6. February 2021 in Frankfurt to take place – and, therefore, more than a year after the first meeting at the beginning of 2020. Provided, of course, the development of the pandemic allows, until then, a Meeting in full strength again.

The Frankfurt city Dean John Eltz holds the variant with the intermediate step "in a corona moderately condensed Form" is right. "I think it's a good thing, because the timing and content spread would otherwise be too large," says the priest, involved himself in the reform project. The Synodal path will quasi be extended by one step. The could do the project just fine, writes to Eltz. As with the previously planned four meetings until the end of 2021, the "ambitious reform would be to add little". And so the Whole stay "sporty program".

The one-day September Meeting in Frankfurt will take place as to the beginning of the year in the large hall of the Dominican monastery, but with much more distance to each other. The city of Dean assumes that there of the four working groups is reported, in which 140 of the 230 participants in the past few months, have to be replaced. The four topics are Power and separation of powers, priestly life, women in services and Offices, as well as sexuality and partnership. From the diocese of Limburg, eleven participants were not have been nominated, of which, however, all of the diocese.