‘Give laity voice in nominating bishops’

An archbishop who is to receive his red hat next month has called for the laity to be consulted on the appointment of bishops, writes Christa Pongratz-Lippitt. “When a bishop is appointed, the laity must be consulted, not so much as far as the actual person is concerned, but definitely as far as the qualities the new bishop requires are concerned. That is what Pope Francis wants and it is good,” Archbishop Karl-Josef Rauber told KNA.

This did not mean that the laity’s wishes were decisive because “Rome has the last word as it has the latest information”, Rauber said. He rejected fears that greater involvement of the laity would lead to a blurring of fundamental beliefs as the laity were “also part of the Church and not an enemy camp”.

“We must not reject everything and only see dangers but must have a little more confidence and be courageous,” he said. Rauber, 80, will receive his red hat with 19 new cardinals on 14 February.

 In Dresden on Monday, 25,000 people, 7,000 more than the previous week, turned out for the weekly Pegida (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West) march; 100,000 took part in anti-Pegida marches in other cities.