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Fiducia Supplicans and Doctrinal Clarity
Not that long ago, Vatican documents that miss the mark would have angered me. Now, I see them more as tragic events. Such is the case with Fiducia Supplicans,...
Dispiriting Signs for the Synod on Synodality
Ever so slowly, the “Synod on Synodality” is beginning. A preparatory process of “listening and dialogue” in parishes and dioceses throughout the Catholic world has been underway since October...
What to Know About the Synodal Way
COVID-19 disrupts all things, except for the Synodal Way of the Catholic Church in Germany. The Synodal Way is a process launched in December 2019 to look for “steps...
The Catholic Parish Today
The recent Vatican document on parishes, released by the Congregation for the Clergy, is altogether sensible. It challenges the status quo in a number of ways. The most important part...
Tyranny in Germany
Less than five years ago, the German parliament passed a law prohibiting commercial “assistance in dying.” Last week, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court declared this law unconstitutional, on the grounds...
As the Synodal Way Begins
The Catholic Church in Germany has begun its “Synodal Way.” From Jan. 30–Feb. 1, the German bishops held the first synodal assembly in Frankfurt. Over the next two years,...
Refugees in Germany
As I am writing these lines at the end of November, the county and city of Passau (where I am from) is putting up more refugees than whole countries...
Deutsche Kirche, Inc.
In the run-up to this fall’s Synod on the Family, we’ve been hearing a lot from the German bishops. They argue that church teaching and discipline must be informed...
