The general relator of the Synod on Synodality made a number of bold statements this week including the assertion that Christian Europe is a “thing of the past.”
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich attends the consistory for the creation of new cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 5, 2019. (photo: Franco Origlia / Getty Images)
VATICAN CITY — One of Pope Francis’ closest aides and a leading figure of the Synod on Synodality has singled out critics of the process, calling them afraid of a “Church on the move” and saying they “know they won’t be able to stop” the synodal experiment.
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, the general relator of the 2021-2024 Synod on Synodality, also issued other bold statements this week including asserting that the idea of a Christian Europe is a “thing of the past,” that people should be accepted and not judged, and that Benedict XVI’s former personal secretary Archbishop Georg Gänswein had betrayed the former pope by not staying in Benedict’s “shadow.”
The Jesuit cardinal, who last year called for a revision of the Church’s teaching on homosexuality, told Quotidiano Nazionale Jan. 26that he believes “those who want Pope Francis to resign do not want a Church on the road.”
The Pope’s mind “is still clear, thankfully,” he said, but he acknowledged that there are some in the Church, including bishops and cardinals, who would like him to resign. “They are the same circles as those who are afraid of the Synod and of a Church on the move, no longer stuck in the past,” he said. “In truth, they know that they will not be able to stop it.”
His comments have led some Italian commentators, including Franca Giansoldati, the Vaticanist for Il Messaggero, to suggest that Cardinal Hollerich is expressing the hope that the heterodox agenda of the Synodal Path in Germany will be welcomed by the entire Catholic Church — although such an approach would seem to be at odds with recent comments by Pope Francis, and a letter from the Vatican to Germany’s bishops urging them not to subvert the hierarchy of the Church.
Asked about Archbishop Gänswein’s recently published new book Nothing But the Truth — My Life Beside Benedict XVI, the contents of which were leaked to the press before Benedict XVI’s funeral, Cardinal Hollerich said, “Whoever represents the Church is the Pope, not the prefect of the Papal Household. Gänswein overexposed himself, he wanted to replace Pope Francis and this is a very serious matter.”
When he was asked if he thought Archbishop Gänswein had betrayed Benedict XVI, Cardinal Hollerich replied, “Yes, I remain convinced that whoever is secretary to a pope must always be his shadow and not seek the limelight.”
His view of Archbishop Gänswein differs from that of Cardinal Angelo Scola, the archbishop emeritus of Milan, who in an interview this week with the Italian magazine Oggi praised the German prelate for being “a faithful and praiseworthy servant.”
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