Op-Ed: This German Synod is really going off the rails

It’s about time someone says it—the Synodal Path has really gone off the rails. This Synod was meant as a way for my fellow German clergy to come together in the spirit of Jesus to have dialogue about our churches. It was supposed to focus on evangelization and bringing more people to the love of Jesus in our beloved Germany; instead, it has devolved into bickering, controversy, and anger. And frankly, it’s all too clear to any self-respecting Catholic that such rotten fruits are only the proof of a rotten project. 

Even our own Pope, Pope Francis, has issued a warning about the “path” that this Synodal Way is going down. We German Bishops have lost sight of the true Way; we’ve betrayed the mission given to us, preferring to bow down to the pressures of the world.

My fellow Bishops want to allow abortion, same-sex marriage, women’s ordination, Catholic-Protestant intercommunion—but you know what’s missing? That’s right, pedophilia. They have so far adamantly refused to discuss pedophilia in any way, let alone finally casting off the medieval taboos and blessing such unions for the good that is in them. And so long as this is the case, it is proof enough to me that such a Synod is a waste of our time.

So go ahead, have your Synod—but I refuse to be a part of it. 

Originally published Apr 25, 2022