Bishop Bätzing: Changes must be felt at grassroots level

What are the next steps in the debate on reforms in the Catholic Church? The Synodal Committee is looking for answers. The second meeting of the committee ended on Saturday in Mainz. In this interview, the Chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, gives an interim assessment. And he explains how he deals with reservations from the Vatican.

Question: Bishop Bätzing, you will shortly be informing the Vatican about the second meeting of the Synodal Committee. What will you say on this occasion?

Bätzing: That we have very quickly found an atmosphere conducive to work, because people have come together here who are passionate about the future of the Church under the most difficult conditions. There is the power here to move things forward. I will be happy to report on this.

Question: The atmosphere is one thing - but there are still strong reservations in the Vatican about a Synodal Council, the establishment of which the Synodal Committee is supposed to promote.

Bätzing: I think the important task for us in the future will be to communicate well with each other about what we want, what is possible and what we can agree on. Basically, I believe that the role of the laity in the church should be emphasised.

Question: Nevertheless, the Catholic Church remains a hierarchical institution. The bishops have the final say.

Bätzing: We don't want to change the constitution of the Church!

Question: But what?

Bätzing: We want to implement the Second Vatican Council more strongly in such a way that all the baptised and confirmed participate in what is decided and discussed in the Church. We are not so arrogant as to say that we already know the solutions, but we want to make our experiences, our requests and our needs available to the universal Church. In my opinion, much of what is being discussed at the World Synod convened by Pope Francis is in line with this. And we already have good formats in our church in Germany in which bishops and lay people consult with each other.

Question: For example?

Bätzing: The diocesan councils. In eight years as Bishop of Limburg, I have never been unable to support a recommended resolution from my diocesan council. I get involved, and in some circumstances I also express my reservations. And then we find joint solutions that the bishop implements in the end.

Question: The Vatican recently published a paper on the position of the papal office. Will the document have an impact on the upcoming debates in the Synodal Committee about power and the distribution of power in the Church?

Bätzing: I think the paper is a very important document. What I find astonishing about it is that at the end there is also talk of a self-limitation of the papal office, which has been discussed from time to time since the First Vatican Council. When we recently spoke about bishops binding themselves to agreements with the laity, we were told: then you are basically giving up your office. Now the same argument is being used with regard to the papal office in what I think is a good way .

Question: What does that mean?

Bätzing: If the pope does not exercise his power in the way to which he is fully entitled under canon law, if he limits himself in order to fulfil his service to the unity of the Church - why shouldn't bishops be able to do the same in their office?

Question: Your confreres from Cologne, Regensburg, Eichstätt and Passau do not take part in the Synodal Committee. How do you explain to them what happens in the committee?

Bätzing: I don't have to explain anything. Everything is open to the public. In other words, if they are interested, my confreres are well placed to find out for themselves.

Question: During the debates in the Synodal Committee, there were roughly two groups. A team of restraint, which does not want to upset Rome with decisions, and a team of confidence, which is in favour of opening up new spaces and moving forward. Where do you fit in?

Bätzing: I am clearly Team Confidence. I want us to change. We have to change. That is the demand that 96 per cent of Catholics place on us. And it is the internal demand that has grown out of the abuse scandal. Certain parts of the Church must be changed systemically so that this no longer happens. And that means participation, it means accountability, it means transparency.

Question: Despite this, people at grassroots level will probably find it hard to follow the sometimes highly theological debates in the Synodal Committee.

Bätzing: That doesn't have to be the case. But the church public must realise that we are changing something. And this requires the deliberations in the committee. Otherwise we can't make any decisions. However, these must be clearly noticeable at grassroots level, for example by changing the counselling culture in a parish, in a diocese and in our country. People can feel that.