Pope writing is viewed critically at the base

2020-02-14T18:14:52.835Z

The Pope has given written notice of the relaxation of compulsory celibacy and the ordination of deacons to women. Both the grass roots of the Catholic Church and church representatives from the district are criticizing this.

Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen - Pope Francis has given a letter in a letter rejecting the relaxation of compulsory celibacy and the ordination of deacons to women. This is viewed critically at the base of the Catholic Church.

"Terrified and disappointed" is the Tölz parish council chairwoman Angelika Lindmair, who after the many discussions about the Synodal Way would have thought "that we are much further ahead. That is a step backwards. ”Lindmair can also imagine that the resignation announced by Cardinal Reinhard Marx from the office of Chairman of the German Bishops' Conference has to do with Rome's decision. The much discussed Synodal Way will be undermined by the Holy Father's letter.

"Society is becoming even more secular"

The parish councilor Barbara Landler from Reichersbeurer also sees a step back rather than "the positive signals that we now need". She considers the Pope's decision to be out of date and is irritated. Last year, she says, religious sisters from the Peru mission were guests in Reichersbeuern. The sisters had been commissioned by the Holy See with missionary services as early as the 1960s. "I can not understand that." Landler now fears even more polarization in the church and is concerned that in the end there will even be a church split.

Step back instead of a positive signal

Brigitte Blösl, municipal adviser from Tölz, selected Article 99 from the Rome letter. After all, the Pope expressed his admiration for the “strong women” in Amazonia, some of whom would have kept the religious communities alive for decades without priests. Blösl also reads this as an encouragement to continue. However, it is not a real legitimation.

Pastor Peter Demmelmair in Tölz would have “imagined something else” when solving the problem of the priestly underserved Amazon region. The good of the Eucharist and the bringing of the sacraments to mankind is "the word of the Lord" and should be placed higher "than the question of what Christian life should look like for priests".

"The Pope has a heart in the right place, but is afraid that it will tear the Church apart."

The Pope, who runs Cornelia Irmer from Geretsried's cause research, has his heart in the right place, but is probably afraid that it will tear the church apart. The pressure from the conservatives in the Vatican has become too strong. For the former mayor, women who have been involved in the church for a long time have been upset. There was so much positive in the Council. “The most recent decision slams a door shut. Many will turn away. Our society will become even more secular. "

“No,” says Cornelia Schrills, President of the Parish of Wolfratshausen. In her opinion, the statements of Pope Francis should not be evaluated as dramatically. "It is not a total cancellation. That could have been it ”Steady drops will hollow the stone.

But she is also not satisfied, especially with regard to Germany. “I would have liked a statement about the role of women in the church.” For her, more equality does not necessarily mean being ordained a deacon or priest. In fact, women still play an “absolutely subordinate role in everyday church life. I do not know a position where the woman acts on an equal footing with a priest. And without instructions from above "it just doesn't work".