| German bishops to obey papal behest --
later
By PAMELA
SCHAEFFER
NCR Staff
Catholics in Germany demonstrated in late January, protesting
against a Vatican decree asking German bishops to stop issuing certificates to
women in problem pregnancies.
Meanwhile, German bishops called an emergency meeting at a
monastery in Bavaria, where, after two days in closed debate, they decided to
comply with the pope’s request, but not immediately.
Under German law, the certificates, indicating that a woman has
sought counseling, are required before she can get an abortion. Pope John Paul
II issued an “urgent request” Jan. 27 to German bishops to stop
issuing the certificates, arguing that the certificates have the effect of
giving women permission to abort.
The pope, in a five-page letter, urged the bishops to take steps
to ensure that “the church’s freedom is not constrained and ecclesial
institutions made co-responsible in the killing of innocent children.”
During the first trimester of pregnancy, abortions are legal in
Germany -- a country highly sensitive since the Holocaust to any form of
discrimination.
“We will meet the pope’s request,” Bishop Karl
Lehman, president of the German Bishops’ Conference said after the closed
meeting. But first, the bishops plan to establish a commission to study the
issue. Their goal is to comply by the beginning of next year.
“You can’t change a system overnight,” Lehman
said.
The papal order was a conundrum for bishops, who fear that they
will be shut out of the counseling process altogether if they refuse to issue
certificates. If removed from the process, which is partially supported with
state funds, the church would lose that chance to dissuade women from having
abortions, they argued. The pope gave no deadline for meeting his demand.
According to news sources, Catholic Charities operates 264 of some
1,700 counseling centers that issue the certificates under the law, which is
less than three years old. Those who support Catholic bishops’
participation note that the certificates state only that the woman has received
counseling. While the certificates allow her to get an abortion under the law,
they do not require her to do so.
Other counseling centers in Germany are operated by other
churches, the Red Cross and the state.
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