[Cath Cauc] Cardinal Marx Meets With Pope Francis and Cardinal Ouellet About German Synodal Plans

National Catholic Register ^ | September 20, 2019 | CNA

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[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Marx Meets With Pope Francis and Cardinal Ouellet About German Synodal Plans

The Sept. 19 meetings followed a public exchange between the German hierarchy and the Vatican over the draft statutes for a ‘Synodal Assembly.’

VATICAN CITY — Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the German Episcopal Conference, has held talks with Pope Francis and Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, about the German bishops’ plans for a “binding synodal path.”

The meetings, held in Rome Sept. 19, followed a public exchange between the German hierarchy and the Vatican over the draft statutes for a “Synodal Assembly” to be formed by the bishops in partnership with the Central Committee of German Catholics.

In a media release issued by the German bishops’ conference on Friday, Cardinal Marx called the meetings “constructive” but offered no details about any further instructions given by the Pope or the Curia concerning the synodal plans.

“In both talks, a constructive dialogue took place, which will feed into the deliberations of the general assembly of the German Episcopal Conference next week.” The release noted that Cardinal Marx was in Rome for meetings of the Pope’s council of cardinal advisers and the Vatican Council for the Economy, both of which Cardinal Marx is a member.

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In response to Cardinal Ouellet’s intervention, Cardinal Marx indicated that the synodal plans would proceed as planned, saying that Rome could not apply a canonical criticism to what he called a “sui generis process” that would be “helpful for the guidance of the universal Church and for other episcopal conferences.”

It is unclear if any changes will be made to that document following the “constructive dialogue” with the Pope and Cardinal Ouellet. It is also unclear if the alternative statutes for a “Francis model” of the synodal process will be given new consideration by the bishops, despite their rejection by the executive committee last month.

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