Pope Leo XIV has received in audience His Excellency Bishop Georg Bätzing, Bishop of Limburg and President of the German Episcopal Conference, as debate continues over the trajectory of the Synodal Way in Germany. This includes the German Church grappling with a secularising society, which has included recent comments from Bishop Bätzing on the country's abortion law which drew criticism from other Church leaders.
On 4 September, the Holy See Press Office confirmed that the Pope met Bishop Bätzing, who has become a central figure in the nationwide process of dialogue between clergy and laity launched in 2019. Known as the Synodaler Weg, or Synodal Path, the initiative has addressed questions of Church governance, clerical celibacy, the blessing of same-sex unions and the role of women.
