Cardinal Marx at Discussion Forum in Magdeburg |
(Rome) In a few days in Rome, the Synod of Bishops on the Family will begin. The unofficial theme is, according to the specifications of Cardinal Walter Kasper: "Communion for remarried divorcees". On which side the great majority of the German bishops are, is already clear. The Rhenish alliance stands behind Cardinal Kasper and whose bishops it wants to take things in their own hands at the Synod of Bishops. The President of the German Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Reinhard Marx of Cardinal of Munich and Freising said that quite frankly at the "Discussion Forum" in Magdeburg two weeks ago.
Cardinal Marx has experienced a boost in his career under Pope Francis. He has been DBK President for a few months, and starting in 2015 he will be Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) and belongs, since April 2013, as the representative of Europe to the C-9 Cardinal Advisory, which advises the pope on the management of the universal Church and the reform of the Curia. Also, the Pope also made him the coordinator of the new Economic Council of the Vatican.
German Bishops Want "Pastoral Aggiornamento"
Cardinal Marx belongs with the German church, as a weighty spokesmen for a "pastoral aggiornamento" in order to bring justice within the family which have been in "situations unknown until a few years ago". The allusion refers to the Synod of Bishops on the Family, held under Pope John Paul II. in 1980 and was reflected in the Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio. It will say that the majority of the German episcopate is of the opinion that Familiaris Consortio is no longer on "timely" because of how quickly and radically people change behavior.
This Marx was told also by his German brothers of Cardinal rank, Gerhard Müller, Cardinal, Prefect of the Congregation, very directly and candidly. The meeting was "cordial" held in a "benign" atmosphere. Head of the delegation, said Marx modestly, was not he, but Bishop Franz-Josef Bode of Osnabrück.
Cardinal Müller is considered, due to his position, as well as his German origin, as the main opponent of Cardinal Kasper's theses. Müller points out that the "mercy is the completion of justice" and that therefore it could never be used to to remove the Ten Commandments or weaken the meaning and scope of the sacraments or even to override them. Otherwise there would be a "serious manipulation of true charity." A hard accusation by the CDF Prefect of Kasper and Marx in the meeting without Müller calling them by name.
The Attempt, to Put Reigns Action on the Synod Itself
Marx announced in Magdeburg, however, that he personally, as soon as the Synod will have begun, as President of the German Bishops' Conference has an already revised document he will present that will explain the position of the German bishops at the Synod. In any case the majority. The minority will probably have no voice at the Synod. Those German bishops who support the position of Kasper, Marx and his predecessor, Zollitsch, all are notable signatories of the document, so says the DBK-chairman. The ranks of the German bishops will be pretty close.
Marx left no doubt in Magdeburg that the document that was presented the front line of the cardinal consistory by Cardinal Kasper in February. The announced document seems to be another part of a deliberate and planned strategy to take control, one that harks back to the year 2013. In calculations perhaps up to the conclave. The detailed document prepared by Kasper and Marx seems to want to steer the discussion of the Synod of Bishops in a certain direction.
Excited about the prospects, are progressive organizations like "We Are Church". The President Martha Heizer who was excommunicated with her husband for arbitrary imitation of Holy Mass, said: "Just a quick, compelling and anthropocentric reform" could help in its resultant sexual morality, could contribute to the shortening of the distance between the traditional teaching of the Church and the reality of the lives of the Catholic faithful.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Diocese of Magdeburg (Screenshot)
image: Diocese of Magdeburg (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com