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<h1 class="gmail-art-title">Cardinal warns against ‘dramatic consequences’ of German bishops’ Synodal Path</h1>
<div class="gmail-art-subtitle">‘Our realities of life should
be shaped much more by the Word of God than our understanding of the
Word of God by our realities of life,’ Cardinal Rainer Woelki said.
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<span class="gmail-art-date">Tue Sep 29, 2020 - 6:57 pm EST</span></div><div class="gmail-single-art-date"><span class="gmail-art-date"><a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/cardinal-warns-against-dramatic-consequences-of-german-bishops-synodal-path">https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/cardinal-warns-against-dramatic-consequences-of-german-bishops-synodal-path</a></span>
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<div class="gmail-author gmail-author-large"> By<span class="gmail-author-name gmail-author-name-lg"> Martin Bürger</span>
<em><strong><br></strong></em></div><div class="gmail-author gmail-author-large"><em><strong><a href="https://lifepetitions.com/petition/support-faithful-german-catholics-who-oppose-dangerous-synodal-path-run-by-german-bishops" style="color:white;text-decoration:underline"> the petition here.</a></strong></em></div></div><div class="gmail-col-sm-10"><div class="gmail-article-text-wrapper gmail-single-article-body">
<p>ROME, Italy, September 29, 2020 (<a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/">LifeSiteNews</a>)
– <span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>German Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki warned of<span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"> potentially </span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">“dramatic
consequences” of the Synodal Path enacted by the German bishops,</span> arguing
that “<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">right</span> and <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">wrong</span> are <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><u>mixed up</u></span>.”</b></span></p>
<p>Issues being discussed during meetings of the Synodal Path include
<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>female ordination, approval of homosexuality, and other changes to<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> </span></b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>the
Church’s teaching on sexual morality.</b></span> The Synodal Path, officially
launched last year, is a collaboration of the German Bishops’ Conference
and the Central Committee of German Catholics, the umbrella
organization for Catholic laity in Germany. Faithful lay Catholics
generally emphasize that they aren’t represented by the Central
Committee.</p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Woelki, the archbishop of Cologne,</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b> focused on</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(246,178,107)"><b> the word “realities of
life” (Lebenswirklichkeiten)</b></span>,<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b> <span style="background-color:rgb(246,178,107)">which </span>is often used by proponents of
changing</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b> Church doctrine</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>to argue that </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>the traditional teaching </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>is no
longer</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>relevant to Catholics.</b></span></p>
<p>“Perhaps, then, the answer to many questions that arise from our
realities of life is that <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">our realities of life</span> should be shaped much
more by the Word of God than </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>our understanding of<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> the Word of God </span>by our
realities of life,</b></span>” Woelki said during a speech at the meeting of the
Ratzinger Circle of Alumni (Ratzinger Schülerkreis) in Rome last
Saturday.</p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>“In the current discussions, there is always talk of <span style="background-color:rgb(246,178,107)">a further
development of</span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">Church doctrine</span>,</b></span>” Woelki pointed out. <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>“However, further
development in the sense of Dei Verbum and Verbum Domini can only mean
that what is true from eternity is being reinterpreted in<span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"> our time</span>.
Ratzinger also calls this relecture.”</b></span></p></div></div></div><p><a href="http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html">Dei Verbum</a> is the Second Vatican Council’s document on revelation, and <a href="http://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_verbum-domini.html">Verbum Domini</a>, released by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, focuses on similar issues.</p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>“Further development … cannot mean </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>that the supposed tradition
contradicts itself, for example by being in complete opposition to</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b> the
previous ecclesiastical teaching authority,”</b><b> Woelki </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>said.</b></span></p>
<p>The cardinal specifically criticized a <a href="https://www.synodalerweg.de/fileadmin/Synodalerweg/Dokumente_Reden_Beitraege/Regionenkonferenz-20200904-3-Synodalforum-III-Arbeitstext.pdf">document</a>
created for the Synodal Path focusing on the role of women in the
Church and implicitly advocating for female ordination by claiming that
Jesus Christ didn’t ordain anyone. “I cannot even go into the one-sided
quotations and the omissions, which is how extensive this matter would
be,” he said.</p>
<p>“I would like to say that the tradition in the Church is merely put
in second place in the document,” he continued. “De facto, however, it
must be said that the bulwark of tradition in the Church, which protects
the Bible from being interpreted in a fundamentalist or ideological
way, does not exist.”</p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>If tradition was seen as the Second Vatican Council had explained, it
would “quickly become apparent that the tradition of the Church does
not</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b> recognize the ordination of women.”</b></span></p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>The Second Vatican Council <span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)">had pointed out, </span>“Sacred theology rests on
the written word of God, together with sacred tradition, as its primary
and perpetual foundation.”</b></span></p>
<p>Additionally, the Council fathers stated, “It is clear, therefore,
that sacred tradition, Sacred Scripture and the teaching authority of
the Church, in accord with God's most wise design,<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b> </b><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">are so linked and
joined together that </span><b>one cannot stand <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">without</span> the others, and that all
together and each in its own way under the action of the one Holy Spirit
contribute effectively to the salvation of souls.”</b></span></p>
<p>Speaking of the Synodal Path, Woelki commented, “Now the question
arises: why do we not want to listen to the Word of God that is revealed
in the tradition?”</p>
<p>An answer must be found to today’s realities of life, Woelki
admitted, “but not against revelation. I would also like to remind you
that <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>the original reality of life that led to the Synodal Path was the
loss of <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">credibility of the Good News and the Church</span> through sexual abuse
by clergy.”</b></span></p>
<p>“If only a marginal paragraph is devoted to this problem” in the
document on the role of women in the Church, “I cannot hide the
suspicion that this reality of life seems to be only a vehicle to make
long cherished wishes come true.”</p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Woelki </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>signaled his openness to dialog about the realities of life
but cautioned</b></span>,<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b> “I am not prepared to do so <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">against </span>the living tradition
of the Church. </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>This distorts </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>the Word of God.</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>This makes</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> <b>the<span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">dialog with
God</span></span></b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"> impossible</span>,<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> which should lead us to our actual happiness and to
true joy.”</span></b></span></p><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>
</b></span><p><span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>Regensburg Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer said in a recent <a href="https://www.katholisch.de/artikel/27035-synodaler-weg-voderholzer-teilt-sorge-vor-kirchenspaltung">interview</a>,</b></span>
“A whole series of <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>demands made by members of the Synodal Path</b></span>, which
were intensified and intensified in the media, have become the subject
of high expectations. But they <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>are clearly contrary to</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b> the teaching of
the Church</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>and therefore contain the danger of schism.”</b></span></p>
<p>Cardinal Woelki himself had <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/german-church-in-danger-of-becoming-national-church-and-secularized-two-cardinals-warn">warned</a> of a German “national church” just a few weeks ago.</p>
<p>“The worst result would be if the Synodal Path leads to division and
thus out of the Church, out of communion with the universal Church. <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>That
would be the worst, if some kind of German national church were to
emerge here.”</b></span></p>
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