In an interviewpublished yesterday, Pope Francis condemned the German Synodal Way as elitist, unhelpful and running the risk of bringing ideological harm to Church processes.
“The German experience does not help,” Pope Francis told Associated Press during the interview, explaining that dialogue should involve “all the people of God”.
The pope said the German process is neither helpful nor serious, and made a clear contrast between it and the universal Synod on Synodality that will culminate with two big meetings at the Vatican this October and next.
In reference to the German Synodal Path, the pope said: “Here the danger is that something very, very ideological trickles in. When ideology gets involved in church processes, the Holy Spirit goes home, because ideology overcomes the Holy Spirit.”
He said that the global synod’s aim was to “help this more elitist (German) path so that it does not end badly in some way, but so is also integrated into the Church”.
The comments were made as part of a wide-ranging interview that also included remarks about the Church’s stance on homosexuality, the loss of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and his health.
Since its launch by Cardinal Reinhard Marx in 2019, the German Synodal Way has been controversial, with many warningit will lead to a schismwith the Church.
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