The recent assembly of the German Synodal Path may have finally put the German Church on the path toward schism, building on a legacy from the 1970s. The Synodal Path rounded off a recent three-day meeting by voting for a permanent council to oversee the local Church. This “decision-making body” will decide upon “pastoral planning, future perspectives and budgetary issues” which are not decided at the diocesan level. 

The new body will take on much of what should belong to a diocesan bishop, and what once required the power of jurisdiction linked to ordination or consecration will be placed in the hands of lay people, in defiance of Canon 127 of the new code. It was also specified that “the resolutions of the Synodal Council shall have at least the same legal effects as the resolutions of the Synodal Assembly.” 

How the Vatican responds will be closely watched. The Pope has signalled through the Synod on Synodality a greater role for the laity, so is the action of the Synodal Path merely following the same principle? But, having adopted a clericalist approach with the Order of Malta, should we not expect Pope Francis to clamp down on the Synodal Path in a similar manner, especially as the Path is disavowing so much Catholic doctrine?

For instance, while progressives failed to pass a document updating teaching on sexual ethics, another text – Women in ministries and offices in the Church – was approved. While not advocating directly for women priests, the text claims that “for generations, many women have known that they were called by God to be deaconesses or priestesses.” It proposes “in future, it should no longer be gender that decides on the allocation of ministries, but the vocation, abilities, and skills that serve the proclamation of the Gospel in our time.” 

The plan appears to expand the chance of preaching to women and lay people – something which has existed in Germany since the 1970s – but also of celebrating marriages and baptism. LGBT issues were also a hot topic, with delegates backing a text calling for “a re-evaluation of homosexuality in the Magisterium” as well as another potentially paving the way for gay priests. 

The Synodal Assembly said it is “aware of the at times precarious situation in which non-heterosexual priests find themselves and wishes to help break with the taboos and normalise their situation.” The objective is that “it is not sexual orientation – regardless of whether or not a person has come out – but human and professional aptitude that decides on access to and continuance in the Church’s ministry.” Another text called for the integration of all “genders”, in particular, transgender people, to be reflected in the baptism registers. 

Much of the Synodal Path’s actions are bringing back memories of the Würzburg Synod (1971-75) and the Dutch Pastoral Council (1966-70). According to FSSPX News, in the Netherlands Pope Paul VI’s teaching on marriage and the regulation of births were arguably emptied of their meaning and strength by a largely lay council, with questions raised over papal authority, while proposing greater integration of women. In 1970, the Plenary Assembly also voted to create a Pastoral Working Group to continue the work of the Council, although it was later suppressed. 

Events in Germany appeared to draw inspiration from this. As early as 1969, the German Bishops’ Conference voted on a resolution for the convocation of a “joint” synod. According to FSSPX News: “This way of proceeding avoided presenting this synod as a particular council of the Church of Germany, which would have required the prior agreement and convocation by Rome, and the approval of all its documents. The “synodal path” of today is therefore only a resumption of an old idea, to avoid the same pitfalls.” 

The statutes resembled those in the Netherlands, with one assembly intended to pronounce on the capacity of the laity to preach during Mass. Despite condemnation, and intervention from Rome, a door was left open and the synod persisted, causing the future Pope Benedict XVI to leave. According to FSSPX News, while the Vatican maintained that only clerics can preach during Mass, it “agreed – ad experimentum for four years – to the possibility of allowing lay people to preach under certain conditions, and in a measured way.” It was “decided that women would have access to leadership positions in dioceses; it was also decided to establish a Presbyteral Council and a Council of Catholics in all dioceses.” 

Bishops regularly appointed “pastoral assistants with the title of “curé,” having authority over the priests who are then only distributors of sacraments.” Among “resolutions brought before the Holy See were the appointment of women to the offices of lector and acolyte, the admission of women to the diaconate and the holding of a common synod every ten years.” The Germans learned lessons from the Dutch, with the Vatican demanding a majority of clerics in the assembly. The upshot was a type of ‘permanent synod’ with regular meetings between bishops and laypeople. 

What we can see now perhaps then is not only the threat of schism but of a legacy stretching back to the 1960s and 1970s in western Europe. With opposition to the Synodal Path growing, however, especially in central and eastern Europe, how can the Vatican reconcile such divergent views emerging not just among lay Catholics but the clergy in different countries? Has the Vatican opened the door to schism as it arguably did in the 1970s, and what now for the unity of the Church? These are questions Pope Francis needs to answer as the Synodal Path and its progressive message pushes ahead.

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