In July, the Vatican’s Secretariat of State issued a cautionary statement about the German bishops’ Synodal Path, saying that the initiative does not have authority to change Catholic doctrinal or moral teachings. The Vatican also warned that the Synodal Way has no authority “to compel the bishops and the faithful to adopt new ways of governance.”

In apparent defiance of the Vatican warning, the Synodal Way will press ahead with a vote on a “synodal council” that would help govern the Church in Germany.