Ask the power question. Before the fall of the German meeting of bishops to protest Catholic women loudly. The impatience grows. And the bishops get pressure from the base and from Rome.
You do not let go. At the start of the plenary Assembly of the Catholic German bishops Catholic women want to protest again. “We want to be visible and audible. And I believe that we are the women and the men in the Catholic Church is also guilty of, that one hears more from us,” says Mechthild Heil, the Federal Chairman of the Catholic woman community of Germany (kfd), of the DW. Of the 450,000 members of the largest Catholic women’s Association in Germany, is pushing for the access of women to all Church services and Offices. Also to the priesthood.
Mechthild Heil, the Federal Chairman of the Catholic woman community of Germany
This Monday noon healing with up to 300 members of the Association want to pull in a cortege through the city centre of Fulda at the Seminary next to the Cathedral of the city. With a percussion group, banners and posters, also with large purple crosses. To conclude, you want to pass the incoming bishops of their claim and with the Chairman of the conference, cardinal Marx, to speak. “Even those who want to, we can’t overlook or miss it,” says healing.
Men, Abuse, Power
A Protest with a history of nearly ten years Ago, the scandal of sexual abuse in the Church in Germany, with the known number of cases at a Berlin Jesuit school began. Since then, new insights, new Numbers and new reports of Victims continue to shake. In the past decades, there were far than a thousand offenders among the priests, thousands of victims and tens of thousands of crimes. And it was covered up and looked the other way. Until the autumn of 2018 occupied scientists for a study of the extent of the scandal. Since then, it’s apparently to patriarchales Think in the male-dominated Church, and the connection between abuse of power and sexual abuse.
Abuse victims of the Berlin Canisius-kolleg provided for reprocessing
And it comes to the women. “We cannot ignore the woman question,” says the osnabrück Bishop Franz-Josef Bode. He is Vice-Chairman of the bishops ‘ conference. As well as some other bishops, he called for a debate about female deacons, there is not in the Catholic Church yet. Several prominent women religious continue. Women have to make in the Church, “the question of power”, for example, said the superior General of the upper Zeller Franciscan nuns, sister Catherine Completely. And stressed that no Pope had defined the exclusion of women from the ordained Ministry, therefore, as a deacon, priest or Bishop, so far as a Dogma.
Post by the Pope
Bishops and lay people want to start in Germany, a so-called “Synodal way” and fundamental questions to address. One of the preparatory working groups dealt with “women in services and Offices in the Church.” And not notes that the position of women in the Catholic Church in the light of the law corresponds to the equality of women and men in many countries around the world, “the expectations of society to the equitable participation of management services”.
Men’s society: The full Assembly of bishops
But the gap is deep in the Church. At the end of June, Pope Francis wrote a letter to the German Catholics, was interpreted as encouraging and as an admonition. Ten days ago important Curia to put cardinals, and exhorted the German bishops. And the Cologne cardinal Woelki, in the bishops ‘ conference is the most important to cardinal Marx, said the discussion of the priestly ordination of women should be terminated. Whether and how to do it now with the “Synodal way”, seems to be open. Marx spoke of the end of the week with Pope Francis in Rome. He will report at the Meeting of the bishops are divided on the woman question.
“From an ancient time…”
“That comes, somehow, from an ancient time, when Woelki says: The debate is over,” says healing and dry. Woelkis rejection don’t fit in with the Modern. “It was the last attempt to say: I speak a power word,” the kfd-Boss to the DW. For the exclusion of women from the priesthood there are historical arguments, or arguments, but “Theo Makes logically no Argument”.
Therefore, the Demo. Salvation women’s Association calls for the past ten years, each with a week of action at the end of September “Makes you strong for a gender just Church!”. But it never came to the noisy Demo in the case of the bishops in Fulda.
Compensation payments to abuse?
At least the issue of abuse workup, in which the bishops do yet difficult to, there seems to be movement. Probably for the first time ever on Tuesday, a prominent representative of the Affected in the non-public Assembly is allowed to speak. The spokesman of the victim initiative “Rectangular table”, Matthias Katsch told the DW that he will introduce the 69 assembled bishops since the spring of recommendations developed by the Initiative for a compensation scheme. It is a question of financial compensation for victims of sexual abuse from 300,000 euros. So far, the bishops had rejected package regulations always be adhered to.
Matthias Katsch, spokesman for the Initiative “Rectangular table”
The Demo is not the only Protest during the four-day deliberations. At the conclusion on Thursday of the merger, Mary 2.0 wants to demonstrate under the Motto “the time is Now: women fight for their Church,” and at the conclusion of worship to participate. And on the final day, representatives of the Catholic young congregation (KjG) for “bold” structural changes in the Church occur.
Video 42 view:36
My perpetrators, the priests
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