Cologne, Germany, May 24, 2022 / 06:45 am (CNA).
The chairman of Germany’s bishops’ conference on Sunday expressed his disappointment with Pope Francis, insisting that “the teaching of the Catholic Church” must be “changed,” especially concerning homosexuality and the role of women.
In a May 22 interview, Bishop Georg Bätzing expressed his “disappointment” in the pope, adding: “But in the sense of a deception,” reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.
Bätzing used the close-sounding German words Enttäuschung (“disappointment”) and Täuschung (“deception”).
Explaining what he meant by this, the bishop said: “The pope, even in the Catholic Church, even with all the powers vested in him, is not someone who could turn the Church from its head onto its feet, which is what we would like.”
Bätzing added: “He is doing what he can. Namely, he is initiating a process where all these questions are put on the table. For the 2023 world synod and for questions, so to speak, like ‘Are groups allowed to participate, are LGBTQ allowed to participate?’ he always says: everyone.”
In the wide-ranging interview with national state broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, the bishop of the Limburg, western Germany, said: “I believe that in the final realization of what our image of God and man is, discrimination against homosexuals, people living in relationships, for example, should not be framed as a prohibition, but as a possibility that is encountered in an appreciative way.”
Bätzing also said that on the matter of ordaining women to the Catholic priesthood, he wanted to “maintain a balancing act in such a way” that he could say what the Church’s teaching is, but at the same time recognize that “this teaching no longer finds acceptance among the faithful, not only in a social context, among the faithful.”
“The sensus fidelium, that is, the sense of the faithful, has moved on,” Bätzing said. “This is a sign that we must take up theologically and that leads to change. And that’s what I’m committed to. So, I don’t sit in the armchair and say ‘this is the way it is now,’ but I really give a lot of my strength to achieving this. And I believe that change is going to happen.”
Bätzing acknowledged that he personally knew another prominent prelate whose public departure from the Catholic Church last week made headlines around the world.
The former priest Andreas Sturm, who was vicar general of the Diocese of Speyer, had also called for a change of the Church’s teaching on homosexuality. Announcing his departure from the Church, Sturm cited frustration over a lack of changes to Church teaching in a number of areas, especially sexuality and the ordination of women.
Asked whether he would contemplate a similar step, Bätzing replied that he would also consider turning his back on the Church altogether if he “got the impression that nothing would ever change.”
“However, I have the impression that a lot is changing at the moment,” the 61-year-old bishop said.
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
So basically, the leader of all the German Bishops is saying that if the Catholic Church doesn’t change its teaching to what HE thinks it should be, then he might leave the Church. Well, let me tell you something buddy, if you think that way then you’ve already left. When you no longer believe that the Church is the ONE CHURCH, FOUNDED BY CHRIST, BASED ON WHAT CHRIST TAUGHT, then how can you call yourself Catholic, much less a Bishop in His ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC CHURCH!?!?!?
When we say “must change” [Herr Bätzing] in apposition to revelation we place ourselves outside the fold and into the Darkness. Decisive action by His Holiness begs response, though it doesn’t appear forthcoming, leaving the suggestion that perhaps creating our own rules is okay.
This is an ongoing dilemma within the Church that by this time of day should awaken the somnolent.
Batzing opines that: “The pope, even in the Catholic Church, even with all the powers vested in him, is not someone who could turn the Church from its head onto its feet [say what?], which is what we would like;” and then he asserts that certain matters “should not be framed as a prohibition [!].” And, that he is disappointed with the pope.
More than one pope, for sure…
This from St. Pope John Paul II: “As Teacher, she [the Church] never tires of proclaiming the moral norm….The Church is no way [!] the author or arbiter of this norm” (Veritatis Splendor, n. 95).
And, “Each of us can see the seriousness of what is involved […] with the REAFFIRMATION OF THE UNIVERSALITY AND IMMUTABILITY OF THE MORAL COMMANDMENTS [italics], particularly those which prohibit [!] always and without exception INTRINSICALLY EVIL ACTS [italics]” (n. 115).
AND, “This is the first time, in fact, that the Magisterium [!] of the Church has set forth in detail the fundamental elements of this teaching [the moral norm], and presented the principles for the pastoral discernment necessary in practical and cultural situations which are complex and even crucial” (n. 115).
As for the SENSUS FIDELIUM of the laity, the clericalist Batzing should be reminded of the layman Thomas More, faced with another such contradiction: “Some men think the Earth is round, others think it flat; it is a matter capable of question. But if it is flat, will the King’s [the pope’s, or Batzing’s] command make it round? And if it is round, will the King’s command flatten it? No…” (A Man for all Seasons).
The thing about the anti-binary homosexual lifestyle is that it then metastasizes to erase all other things binary, even clarity of thought. Moral absolutes are binary, yes or no. The teaching does exist, AND it does apply.
Buh-bye, Bätzing.
How’s that Catechism workin’ out for ‘ya?