On being elected the new president of the German bishops’ conference, Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich made his strongest statement to date on the need to allow remarried divorcees to receive Communion.
The German bishops want to take an active part at the coming synod on the family in October by campaigning for a more merciful approach to remarried divorcees at the level of the world Church, Cardinal Marx told the press after the election. The bishops will present a paper on marriage as “an alliance and a Sacrament” which also goes into the need for mercy and forgiveness. They will propose a “pastoral way of reconciliation” for remarried divorcees. The final version of this paper will be drawn up when the permanent council of the bishops’ conference meets in April.
Already in his sermon at Mass before his election, Marx had spoken of the Pope’s apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium and underlined the “explosive force” of mercy. Quoting Blessed Pope John XXIII, he had expressly warned against “prophets of doom”.
The faithful “rightfully” expected the Church to accompany those whose marriages had broken down, Cardinal Marx said. “It must be clear that as a Church we say: ‘You are not second-class Christians. There is a chance of a new beginning and we would like to accompany you on this path.’ We must give this approach more positive support,” he emphasised, but at the same time warned against expecting quick solutions. “The difficulties are being underestimated”, he said recalling that the question of the indissolubility of marriage was a central theological issue.
In a later interview in Die Welt am Sonntag (16 March), Marx said he agreed with the solution Cardinal Walter Kasper had suggested to the cardinals at the Consistory in Rome last month, namely that remarried divorcees who recognised their failures should be allowed to apply to be readmitted to the Sacraments after a period of atonement.
But he warned that the issue could only be solved at the world church level. “On the big important issues like the celibacy rule or the question of the remarried divorcees, a world church decision will continue to be imperative”, he underlined. In a globalised world, a strong centre in Rome was essential for the Catholic Church, he said. At the same time Pope Francis’ wish for decentralisation was “obvious”, he admitted, adding, “We will have to discuss how this is to be understood.”
Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst of Limburg, responsible for family affairs in the bishops’ conference, did not take part in the election of a new president. He was asked by Pope Francis to “take time out” last autumn after being accused of extravagance.
However, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith prefect, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, told the Allgemeine Zeitung that the problem concerning remarried divorcees could not be solved by “diminishing God’s word”. Remarried divorcees were not allowed to receive the Sacraments because they had broken the indissoluble bond of marriage and were in a “state of grievous sin”, he insisted.
Loading ...
