HEAD OF CONGREGATION FOR DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH ASKS GERMAN BISHOPS' CONFERENCE FOR UNANIMOUS SUPPORT OF INTERCOMMUNION PROPOSAL

In a statement released by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) following a  meeting between German Bishops and Vatican officials, Archbishop Luis Ladaria, SJ, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, explained that Pope Francis “appreciates the ecumenical commitment of the German bishops and asks them to find, in a spirit of ecclesial communion, a unanimous result if possible.” 

The CDF statement also noted that Archbishop Ladaria “will inform the Holy Father about the content of the conversations” and said the meeting took place “in a cordial and fraternal atmosphere.” 

Pope Francis was not in attendance at the meeting.

Present at the talks were Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne and Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg. The two Bishops are among seven who wrote a letter to the Vatican in which they oppose a proposal and pastoral handout approving Intercommunion — which the German Bishops voted in favor by a two thirds majority.

With the vote, held at their Spring Plenary Assembly in Ingolstadt, the German Bishops overwhelmingly decided that permission could be granted to a Protestant spouse if, after having made a “serious examination” of conscience with a priest or another person with pastoral responsibilities, he or she “affirms the faith of the Catholic Church,” wishes to end “serious spiritual distress,” and has a “longing to satisfy a hunger for the Eucharist.”

At the time, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, President of the German Bishops’ Conference, made clear that the proposal did not require the Protestant spouse to convert to Catholicism.

In a March 22 letter to the Vatican, seven Bishops indicated that they did not consider the vote to be “right,” because the issue of intercommunion is not a “pastoral one,” but “a question of the faith and unity of the Church, which is not subject to a vote.”

Bishop Voderholzer, who is Vice-president of the German Bishops’ Conference’s Doctrinal Commission and the only German member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was invited by Pope Francis to attend the talks. 

Also present at the meeting were three German Bishops supporting the proposal: Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann of Speyer, and Bishop Gerhard Feige of Magdeburg, President of the Bishops’ Commission for Ecumenism. 

Jesuit Fr. Hans Langendörfer, Secretary of the German bishops’ conference — who is thought to be the mastermind behind the German Bishops’ intercommunion proposal — also attended the meeting. 

Taking part on the Vatican side were Archbishop Luis Ladaria, SJ, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity; Salesian canonist Msgr. Markus Graulich, Under-secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts; and Father Hermann Geissler, head of the doctrinal section of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. All are understood to be sympathetic to the seven Bishops’ letter opposing the Conference’s proposal.

Pope Francis, for his part, is believed to have some sympathies for the German Bishops’ proposal, having appeared to endorse the idea at a meeting with Lutherans in Rome in November 2015.

So whether or not Archbishop Lardaria’s request will be the final word on the matters remains unclear.

Not until Pope Francis himself speaks to the issue will the dispute be resolved.

Given the Holy Father’s inclination to have local synodal gatherings such as Conferences of Bishops resolve questions regarding the pastoral care of souls, it will most interesting to see what the Pope decides and whether or not unanimity within the Conference would be considered an absolute requirement for going forward with this proposal.

More on this story will be forthcoming I am sure.