Mara Klein on Synodal Committee: Hope to have symbolic effect

Mara Klein was the only diverse person to stand out at the synodal meetings in Frankfurt. He*she was also elected to the Synodal Committee by the assembly. He*she has now been given a prominent role ahead of the committee's second meeting: Together with Bishop Georg Bätzing, Irme Stetter-Karp and Bishop Peter Kohlgraf, Mara Klein forms the Presidium of the Synodal Committee. In an interview with katholisch.de, he*she talks about the work of the committee and the hope for change in the Church.

Question: Between the first and second meeting of the synodal committee, you were elected to the committee's presidium. Why did you put yourself forward for election?

Klein : We decided together - and this is also laid down in the statutes - that two more members should be added to the Presidium of the Synodal Committee and that this should be as generationally and gender-balanced as possible. With this in mind, I have agreed to stand as a candidate in consultation with others. I think this is a sign of what the Synodal Path and the Synodal Committee stand for.

Question: What does it mean for you if one of the four people on the Presidium is now diverse?

Klein :What does it mean for Mrs Stetter-Karp (Irme Stetter-Karp is President of the Central Committee of German Catholics, editor's note) that out of four people, one is female and that two priests and no non-ordained men are part of the Presidium? I do think that it points the way for what we are trying to achieve: a church of diversity and participation. At least formally, this should also be evident in the Presidium, although this diversity and participation are not yet structurally present in the church. The fact that this is at least symbolically there hopefully also means something for the way we work.

Question: At the Synodal Assembly, you were the only diverse person to speak on behalf of a group that has often been invisible in the church. Do you feel pressure to do justice to this?

Klein: Yes, the pressure is always there. I am aware that I am often the first trans person or first non-binary person that a person encounters and that how this whole group is perceived depends on the encounter with me - whether consciously or unconsciously. I know that I can never do justice to this. I cannot speak for an entire group. Nor am I representative of this group. Nevertheless, I hope to have a symbolic effect that gives trans people, diverse people and non-binary people in the church more self-confidence and a sense of self-efficacy.

Question: Have you noticed a change in thinking in your encounters with other synod members - and perhaps with bishops in particular - during the Synodal Path?

Klein: Yes, I do experience a thoughtfulness. Above all, I experience a great respect for myself as a person. I am very grateful to encounter an atmosphere of learning, an atmosphere in which I can make corrections and where this is accepted. These are all things that would be a prerequisite in an ideal world, but don't usually occur in a society where you are often met with aggression. Both the CDU and the AfD have it in their programmes that gender should not be changed. Gender bans were recently enforced by CDU/CSU governments. I therefore think it is a sign when this happens in such a prominent body as the Executive Committee. That gives me courage and hope.

Question: However, this seems to be the exception rather than the rule in the church as a whole. How do you deal with the fact that Vatican documents still talk about "gender ideology"?

Klein : I deal with it differently on different levels. As a scientist working on this topic, first of all from a scientific and theological perspective. That also makes it a little easier for me because I can understand the Vatican system better. Personally, however, I am concerned about the overlaps with the AfD election programme, for example, where the same terminology is used. I also try to create visibility and do educational work, for example in workshops. There needs to be an awareness that these are people and not an ideology.

Question: How have you experienced the meetings of the Synodal Committee so far compared to the Synodal Assemblies of the Synodal Pathway?

Klein : At the first meeting, it became clear that it is a smaller format. But it also became clear that synodality has now been practised. It certainly doesn't run smoothly and without tensions. But I would also be worried if that were the case. I believe that irritation is the only way to get things moving. On the one hand, we always have tension at the structural level, which we have to address as a committee. On the other hand, we have a basis of trust between people. My impression is that this also relaxes our dealings with each other in many places. Synodality is becoming the norm.

Question: Why are the Synodal Path or the Synodal Committee so important to you?

Klein : Catholicism is a home into which I was baptised and which has given me a great deal, but which also restricts me in many ways. And compared to many others, I am still in a very privileged position. I would like the church to be able to offer what it has to offer to others in the future. This also includes minorities. I want to see a church that leads the way when it comes to human rights. Seeing that something is moving here also gives hope that something can change with regard to other structures.

Question: Following the first meeting of the Synodal Committee, the Vatican wanted to prevent the Bishops' Conference from deciding on the statutes and rules of procedure of the body. This was not the first time that the Vatican has interfered in the synodal process in this way. How hopeful are you that this way of working will lead to concrete results at all?

Klein : A Roman intervention is also a result. It shows that we are making a start. If that didn't exist, I would very much doubt that we are even on a path that questions structures.