A “transparent” journey

The progress of the German Church towards the XIV General Assembly of the Bishops’ Synod on the theme “Vocation and mission of the family inside the Church and in contemporary society”, scheduled for October 4-25, continues according to the steps defined on the occasion of the latest plenary meetings of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK). Ahead of a common synthesis by Germany’s 27 dioceses on the answers to the synodal questionnaire, the German faithful have shown full participation in the reflections prompted therein. Massimo Lavena for SIR Europe asked Marianne Habersetzer, Director of the department “Generations and age in the sector of pastoral care and ecclesial life” of the Archbishop Ordinariate of Munich-Freising, to provide an overview of the progress made so far. What are the main differences between the answers to the previous synodal questionnaire and the one released ahead of the Synod of the coming fall? “The major purpose of the first questionnaire was to identify the themes of the first extraordinary Synod in order to carry out an appropriate analysis and obtain a daily agenda on the situation in world dioceses. Moreover, the first questionnaire was marked by strictly legal language and it demanded preparation on the juridical situations worldwide (meaning of marriage in canon law, concept of natural law compared to man-woman relations…). Questions also probed into the respondents’ knowledge of Catholic doctrine. The second questionnaire dealt with pastoral care. What do couples and families need in the present times and in the different existential situations? What do they expect from the Church and what could she offer in concrete terms to accompany them? What form of pastoral care could be carried out? How are couples and families being supported? The questionnaire aims at underlining multiplicity and it highlights the ‘pastoral landscape’ of marriage and the family. It stresses the importance and the seriousness of this theme”. The community of faithful of Munich-Freising didn’t shun controversial themes that are the centre of theological and moral debate inside the Church. What are the most interesting items of reflection you have come across in the analysis of the answers? “Indeed, hot issues in the area of pastoral care were not eluded, such as the question of pastoral care with remarried divorcees of the pastoral accompaniment of homosexuals. The answers we received show that most respondents believe that a lot still needs to be done and call for good pastoral approach towards these people”. There was much criticism to what were described as “excessively difficult” questions, tailored for experts: which contribution are they expected to bring to the Synod debates? “Indeed, the questionnaire contains complex wording. A large amount of criticism regarded the choice of words and the comprehensibility of the text, but there was also a great amount of work. We received as many as 700 questionnaires to date. Many respondents availed themselves of the option to answer only some of the questions. The available options were all used and the faithful provided answers to themes they hold dear. The questionnaires’ evaluation shows that many faithful are deeply committed, that they provided differentiated and qualified answers and that they’re not afraid to address complex themes. Respondents include, in particular, people actively involved in parishes, parish unions and groups such as parish associations and councils”. What does it mean for an active Church such as that of Munich-Freising to immediately put online the answers on the website of the archdiocese, and in your opinion which joint synthesis was carried out with all the other dioceses of the German Church ahead of the Synod Assembly? “On January 27 2015 German bishops decided that all dioceses were to make the questionnaire available online to offer the opportunity of taking a stand on the questions. To avoid being accused of having ‘censored’ Rome’s questionnaire through simplifications, changes or abbreviations, we put the integral version of the questionnaire online on the website of the archdiocese of Munich-Freising. In the presentation to the document we referred to the complexity of the questions, inviting respondents to reply even to only some of the questions. It’s still early to understand the points in common and the differences between German dioceses. The evaluation was submitted to Rome, as requested by the Vatican, by April 15. It will eventually be published by the German Bishops’ Conference”.