Pope Francis “will speak… will have to speak” about the changes in Church teaching suggested by the German bishops in their Synodal Path, Cardinal George Pell told a Catholic Herald interviewer.

Cardinal Pell, who signed the recent fraternal correction to the German bishops, said that the letter—now signed by dozens of prelates from around the world—was designed to “reassure [the Pope] that the overwhelming majority of Catholic bishops throughout the world stand with the tradition.”

The Australian cardinal said that the fundamental question addressed by the fraternal letter, in response to the German bishops’ proposals, is “whether we believe that we stand under the authority of the apostolic tradition or are its masters.”