Vatican laments weakness in German
church
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
NCR Staff Rome
In two recent moves, the Vatican has underscored its displeasure
with the German-speaking Catholic church, despite the installation of four new
German cardinals at a consistory Feb. 21. Some observers had suggested that the
new appointments signaled a softening of Vatican discontent.
In mid-March, German press reported that all nine German
cardinals, including the four new ones, were handed copies of a letter from
Pope John Paul II during consistory proceedings Feb. 21. The letter lamented
the weakness of the German church, notably what the Vatican
criticizes as its overly liberal approach to doctrine, ecumenism, family issues
and collaboration between priests and laity.
It was the only such letter distributed to a national delegation
of cardinals at the consistory.
In the second case indicating that Vatican umbrage remains strong,
the Vatican ignored wishes of a German-speaking local church in choosing a
bishop for the Austrian diocese of Graz. Moderate Bishop Johann Weber, stepping
down after a series of confrontations with Rome, had collected names of
possible successors in wide consultation across the diocese. The Vatican pick,
however, was not on the list.
The moves are the latest in a string of recent battles between
Rome and German-speaking Catholics, a block of 32 million believers spread over
Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It is considered the most liberal zone in the
Catholic world.
A 1996 poll showed that 85 percent of Germans question the
doctrine of papal infallibility, and 75 percent consider the Catholic church to
be anti-sex.
In a characteristic gesture of independence, 49 Catholic priests
in the Freiburg archdiocese took out an ad in a national publication in early
March, announcing their refusal to swear a loyalty oath. The oath was imposed
on pastors by Rome in 1989. (In a typical maneuver, the German bishops had not
required the oath for 11 years because there was no official translation from
Latin. Finally German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the popes top doctrinal
officer, personally supplied one).
The priests decried the 1989 oath as requiring assent to virtually
everything the pope says. Moreover, they argued, the Bible forbids swearing
oaths.
The Vatican regards the German-speaking church as important for
two reasons. A state-collected church tax ensures that the church has abundant
financial resources, and Germanys rich intellectual tradition makes it a
theological trendsetter.
In his letter, John Paul warned of confusion and abuse
in practice of ecumenism, especially the practice of intercommunion. Germany is
roughly evenly split between Catholics and Protestants.
Sharing Communion with Protestants is a violation of canon law,
but it is an increasingly common practice in Germany, according to many
observers. This is especially so in the wake of a 1999 Catholic-Lutheran
agreement that declared void mutual excommunications deriving from the era of
Martin Luther.
In a few cases, such intercommunion is highly public. At a
national Catholic gathering in Hamburg on June 2, 2000, for example, a Catholic
priest led a joint communion service along with a Lutheran minister, an Old
Catholic priest and a Hussite bishop. The Catholic priest, Fr. Hermann Muenzel,
justified his act by saying: It is Jesus, not the bishop, who invites us
to the meal.
Muenzel later backed down when threatened with suspension,
agreeing not to lead joint services again.
Catholics and Protestants in Germany are planning a joint national
celebration in Berlin in 2003, and organizers have announced hopes to hold an
intercommunion service. The papal letter appears to dampen hopes for that
prospect.
On the family, John Paul called for enforcement of the rule
barring divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, who have not received an
annulment, from receiving the sacraments.
Vatican observers noted that this was the precise issue in a 1993
dispute between Ratzinger and then-Bishop Karl Lehmann of Mainz, with the
latter arguing for a more liberal approach. Lehmann became a cardinal Feb. 21,
but the letter suggests that his nomination was not universally applauded in
the curia.
Meanwhile, Austrian Catholic leaders find themselves grieved with
the Vatican over the way Webers replacement was selected.
Rome isnt hearing the local churches, Austrian
theologian Paul Zulehner told NCR. This is clearly not the
appointment the local church wanted.
Bishop Egon Kapellari of Klagenfurt, the Vaticans choice for
Graz, is seen as open and conciliatory, but also reflexively loyal to Rome,
Zulehner said. He will be a surprise-free bishop, he said.
Weber, 74, who was bishop of Graz since 1969, has long been caught
up in discontent in the Austrian church. He was at the center of a storm over
former Vienna Cardinal Hans Gröer, who resigned in 1995 amid allegations
of sexual abuse, but without ever acknowledging wrongdoing. Weber pushed for a
public declaration of sympathy for the accusers from the pope, but none was
ever forthcoming.
Weber was the chair, and the key episcopal supporter, of
1998s Dialogue for Austria, a national assembly of Catholics
that endorsed sweeping reforms. Weber carried the assemblys proposals to
Rome, but met with a frosty curial reception.
Both Weber and fellow Austrian Bishop Alois Kothgasser of
Innsbruck until recently employed a system of consultation involving priests,
religious communities and laity in order to draw up lists of nominees as
potential successors. In April 2000, however, a Vatican letter ordered the two
men to stop. The pope must be free to name whomever he wishes without any sort
of pressure, the letter from the Congregation for Bishops
asserted.
As it happened, Kapellari was not on Webers list. Weber told
Austrian media that he learned of the choice just before it was announced.
Ironically, these Vatican signs of displeasure come in a moment in
which the German-speaking churchs approach seems to be paying some
ecumenical dividends. Lutheran Bishop Johannes Friedrich of Bavaria recently
said he could envision a role for the Catholic pontiff as
spokesperson for all Christians in a globalized world.
The papacy does not have to constitute, in the future, an
element of separation between Catholics and Protestants, Friedrich
said.
The e-mail address for John L. Allen Jr. is
jallen@natcath.org
National Catholic Reporter, March 30,
2001
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