The Archdiocese of Bamberg, Germany, has been caught in a quandary over the appropriate role for lay Catholics in the choice of a new bishop.

With the resignation of Archbishop Ludwig Schick earlier this month, the archdiocese is legally bound by a Bavarian concordat with the Holy See, which gives the cathedral chapter the duty to submit a list of episcopal candidates to Rome. But the German bishops, in their Synodal Path initiative, have called for the involvement of lay people in the process.

Similar situations could arise in other German dioceses where the choice of bishops is governed by a Church-state concordat.