Bishop Christian Würtz, who gave his support to re-examining the possibility of women priests and the changing of the Church’s teaching on homosexuality, has been appointed as the new Bishop of Eichstätt.

During the German Synodal Way, Bishop Würtz voted in favour of both the Magisterial Reassessment of Homosexuality and the Women in Ministries and Offices in the Church documents.

The second document stated that “in the service of evangelisation, it is a matter of allowing women to participate appropriately in the proclamation, in the sacramental representation of Christ and in the building up of the Church.

“Whether or not the teaching of Ordinatio Sacerdotalis infallibly binds the Church must then be bindingly examined and clarified at this level."

Launched on December 1, 2019 and concluding on March 11, 2023, the Synodal Way was a series of conferences held by the Catholic Church in Germany largely separate from the Synod on Synodality.

The Synodal Way generated controversy for its refusal to rule out advocating changes to Catholic doctrine on marriage and the priesthood.

In a 2019 interview, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa, denied the possibility that any particular country could change the universal Church teaching and discipline.

“It is useless for anyone to pretend that the German synod is binding, because no one has given that authority to the German synod. No one can bind the faithful beyond their authority to bind or pastors beyond their authority to bind,” he said.

In 2023, Pope Francis expressed concern about the German Synodal Way. He said: “There are indeed numerous steps being taken by significant segments of this local Church that threaten to steer it increasingly away from the universal Church’s common path.”

Bishop Würtz was previously the Auxiliary Bishop of Freiburg and was regent of the Freiburg seminary. He will succeed Bishop Gregor Maria Hanke OSB.

In response to his appointment, Bishop Würtz said: “I hope that I can use my experience and skills to help build the Kingdom of God in Eichstätt and be able to walk with the people here. I thank Pope Leo for the trust he has placed in me and I am now looking forward to getting to know the people in the diocese."

Bishop Emeritus Hanke said: "Auxiliary Bishop Christian Würtz is a spiritually experienced, theologically adept and competent pastor. From the bottom of my heart, I wish him God's abundant blessing for his ministry."