Bishop Bätzing: German bishops not on ‘confrontational course with Rome’

CNA Deutsch, Sep 25, 2025 / 14:03 pm (CNA).

The chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference defended his country’s controversial guidelines on same-sex blessings this week, asserting that there was no contradiction with Vatican teaching, despite Pope Leo XIV’s recent criticism.

Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg used his closing address at the autumn assembly to address the concern. “To construct the matter of ‘episcopal disobedience’ on the part of German bishops from Pope Leo XIV’s statements on Fiducia Supplicans  is simply absurd,” Bätzing said.

Pope Leo made the statement in a recent interview with Crux.

“In Northern Europe, they are already publishing rituals of blessing ‘people who love one another,’ which goes specifically against the document that Pope Francis approved,” the pontiff said.

Even before Leo’s warning words, five German dioceses refused to implement the German guidelines, citing conflicts with Vatican teaching.

On Thursday, Bätzing maintained that these guidelines, titled “Blessings Give Love Strength,” were created “in consultation with the Roman Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.”

The German prelate said that “the criticism that the pope hints at in the interview is directed against the publication of liturgical formularies for formal blessing rituals. This is precisely what the German bishops have consciously not done.”

“The handbook created in Germany, ‘Blessings Give Love Strength,’ is a pastoral concretization of Fiducia Supplicans created in consultation with the Roman Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith about the situation in Germany,” the conference chairman said.

When asked by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, about how this “consultation” was structured, a conference press spokesman stated that it does not comment on such internal matters as a matter of principle.

Vatican document context

The German tensions relate to the document Fiducia Supplicans, issued by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in December 2023.

The document allowed priests to offer “spontaneous” pastoral blessings to same-sex couples and others in “irregular situations” while maintaining that such blessings cannot resemble ceremonies and must be very brief.

In his opening Mass homily this week, Bätzing reflected on the Church’s theological self-understanding.

The Church’s identity as “sacrament and instrument of salvation,” as formulated by the Second Vatican Council, “must not be understood exclusively, as it has been for centuries,” he said, referencing the traditional teaching “extra ecclesiam nulla salus” (“no salvation outside the Church”).

The conciliar declaration Nostra Aetate  on the Church’s relationship to other religions has become “exemplary for the further development of Church teaching,” enabling “ecumenism, dialogue with other religions, acceptance of freedom of religion and conscience,” Bätzing argued.

However, other bishops quickly shifted focus at the assembly to different concerns, including declining membership.

Membership crisis deepens

Considering catastrophic results from the 2023 Church membership survey, Mainz Bishop Peter Kohlgraf emphasized that “reforms are not enough.”

According to the survey, only 22% of Catholic Church members have confidence in their institution, down from over 80% in the 1980s. Three-quarters of Catholic Church members are considering leaving the Church.

Kohlgraf emphasized: “Even if the Church and we bishops, as responsible actors, were to implement such an agenda in full, the church pews would not automatically fill up again, baptism rates would not rise, and Church departures would not decline.”

Archbishop Udo Bentz of Paderborn warned Tuesday: “We must not get stuck in crisis mode.” While calling for “a synodal culture,” he cautioned against focusing solely on “who is allowed to participate in decision-making” at the expense of broader pastoral concerns.

The division among German bishops reflects broader tensions as the Church navigates between pastoral outreach and doctrinal clarity in an increasingly secular society.

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, and has been translated and adapted by CNA.