Tensions between Rome and the German bishops are high at the moment, with repeated warnings from several high-ranking curial officials and one strongly worded letter from Pope Francis having thus far gone unheeded.
Led by the president of their conference, Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, the German bishops continue their pursuit of a “binding synodal path” which – as they practically admit – seeks to put settled matters of doctrine on the table for discussion, and propose their own solutions to problems of order and discipline in the Church, which touch the whole body of the faithful. They know they are risking a serious break with Rome. Why the game of brinkmanship?
