After the World Council, it is now the turn of the bishops

Synod on Sunday Pope Francis The process of reform initiated by the Catholic Church throughout the world has come to an end.

This is without a statement from the head of the church about which proposals contained in the 45-page document, which was decided at a meeting of about 360 bishops and about 40 lay people, which he now accepts and which he does not.

The 87-year-old has the final say in the Catholic Church, which has a population of about 1.4 billion people worldwide.

But he only said: “What are we (In Synod, note) I've accepted that's enough. The document already contains very concrete indicators that can guide the mission of churches on different continents and in different contexts.

What status the document has under canon law remains unclear. This leaves many confused.

Ferdinand KinderThe head of Catholic Action interprets the Pope's reticence positively: “It shows that he sympathizes with what was discussed and agreed upon in the synod. This is his papal word.”

Kinder said the synod showed, for example, that different issues affecting the Catholic Church could also be considered at a regional level. It is now up to the bishops to decide to what extent they implement reforms in their areas of responsibility, namely the dioceses.

This includes, for example, that Women or ordinary people More church tasks can be assigned.

Bishops must implement the suggestions

It has been the custom in Upper Austria for 25 years that because… Shortage of priests Women are also allowed to lead congregations or are assigned to lead Sunday services, baptisms or funerals, Kinder explains.

He assumes that the topic is in Bishops' Conference On the agenda after Halloween. And what came out of the council in terms of content will also be implemented.”

There is no opening for priestly ordination

There was no movement indicating an opening Deacon or priestly ordination for women It is considered. This is “a serious frustration,” says Kinder, “because the Roman Catholic Church could be a comrade in arms for gender equality.” The head of Catholic Action hopes that more work will be done on the issue in the “very near future”.

The point of view of the German theologian Thomas SchulerKinder, who said the synod had “basically achieved nothing” and that the pope would continue to act like an “absolute monarch,” disagreed.

There are already signs from the Vatican that the gender issue has “reached consciousness.” Kinder says the issue of gender (keyword diversity) is complex and needs to be viewed comprehensively; We still have to wait for the results of gender science. “The work is done in a very professional manner in the background.”