Information in English

The Synodal Council is the working body established by the Synodal Assembly in its docu-ment ‘Sustainable Strengthening of Synodality. A Synodal Council for the Catholic Church in Germany’,

• to seek an understanding of the concept of synodality as a basic practice of the Church. The experiences of the World Synod will also have to be taken into account;
• to prepare an evaluation of the implementation of the resolutions of the Synodal Assembly, which is planned for a new Synodal Assembly in 2026;
• to further develop the initiatives that have been discussed in the Synodal Forums and the Synodal Assembly on the Synodal Path and to discuss the texts that could not be finalised by the Synodal Assembly;
• to prepare a permanent synodal body for the Church in Germany that is dedicated to supra-diocesan fundamental issues of the Church in Germany and complies with canon law requirements.

The Synodal Council is governed by statutes that were adopted by the German Bishops' Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), the organisations responsible for the Synodal Council, and by rules of procedure that the Council has drawn up for itself. You may find the documents here: Synodaler Ausschuss.

The Synodal Council includes the 27 diocesan bishops of the German dioceses, 27 members of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) and 20 representatives elected at the Synodal Assembly in March 2023. At their own request, the (arch)bishops of Eichstätt, Cologne, Passau and Regensburg are not taking part in the consultations.

The work of the Synodal Council is financed by 23 dioceses through a separate registered association.

Yes, even if the bishops are not members of the Council, lay representatives of the four dioceses are invited to attend the meetings of the Synodal Council as guests.

The Synodal Council meets twice a year. The dates can be found at www.synodalerweg.de.

No. In official talks between representatives of the Roman Curia and representatives of the German Bishops' Conference, the work of the Synodal Council was discussed and information was provided. The joint statements of the Holy See and the German Bishops' Conference can be found here:

Gemeinsame Presseerklärung des Heiligen Stuhls und der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz zu den Gesprächen am 28. Juni 2024
Zur Pressemitteilung

Gemeinsame Presseerklärung des Heiligen Stuhls und der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz zu den Gesprächen am 22. März 2024
Zur Pressemitteilung

The work of the Synodal Council will culminate in the Synodal Assembly in 2026, which is intended to evaluate the work of the Synodal Path to date.

The website www.synodalerweg.de provides regular information about the work of the Synodal Council.

Evangelisation is the overarching goal of the Synodal Path. The Synodal Path is about seeking new ways to credibly proclaim the Gospel of Christ. In order for this to succeed, the members of the Synodal Assembly follow a twofold listening approach: On the one hand, sincere listening to one another by all members and, on the other, listening to the Holy Spirit. This listening requires a willingness to be touched and carried by the presence of the Holy Spirit.

In line with Pope Francis, who has called for the ‘primacy of evangelisation’ for the Catholic Church in Germany and encouraged her to combine the spiritual dimension of the Synodal Path with the structural challenges, the following applies to the members of the Synodal Assembly in accordance with the statutes of the Synodal Path:
“As baptized women and men, we are called to proclaim in word and deed the "kindness and love of God" (Tit 3:4) so that people may hear and receive the Gospel in freedom. We want to use the Synodal Path to improve the conditions for us to fulfil this task credibly.
We focus on the question of God and the way He wants to go with people today. We see that for many people it is the Church herself that obscures the image of God. We rely on the power
of the Holy Spirit to renew the Church so that she can credibly witness to Jesus Christ as the light of the world.”

The German Bishops’ Conference is an association of the Roman-Catholic Bishops of the (Arch)dioceses in Germany. It was established to promote joint pastoral tasks, to coordinate the Church’s work, to jointly adopt decisions and to maintain contact with other Bishops’ Conferences. The highest body of the German Bishops’ Conference is the Plenary Assembly of all bishops at which the bishops regularly meet in spring and autumn for several days.
Read more: www.dbk.de

The Central Committee of German Catholics (Zentralkomitee der deutschen Katholiken - ZdK) is the association of representatives of the Diocesan Councils, of Catholic associations and of institutions of the lay apostolate and other public figures from Church and society. The bodies of the Central Committee are the Plenary Assembly, the Main Committee, the Board and the President.
Read more: www.zdk.de

The Joint Conference was established after the Würzburg Synod (1971-1975) and has since comprised representatives of the German Bishops’ Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK). It meets twice a year in order to discuss topics and tasks which affect both bodies. It consists of ten bishops and ten ZdK representatives.

The Synodal Assembly is the supreme body of the Synodal Path and takes the decisions. It includes the members of the German Bishops’ Conference, 69 members of the Central Committee of German Catholics as well as further representatives of spiritual services and church offices, professional groups, religious orders, staff of diocesan administration as well as young people and individual personalities. Gender and generational equality were taken into account when appointing the members. At all, the Synodal Assembly consists of 230 persons. At the synodal assemblies, all synod members come together to discuss, vote and pass resolutions. The Apostolic Nuncio, representatives of the non-Catholic churches as well as the neighbouring European Bishops' Conferences and supra-regional lay organisations of the adjoining countries are invited to attend the plenary meetings as observers with the right to speak.
Read more: Synodalversammlung (Synodal Assembly)

To deal with the content work of the Synodal Path, four Synodal Forums were set up at the first Synodal Assembly. They develop the proposals for the Synodal Assembly:

• Synodal Forum I: “Power and Separation of Powers in the Church - Joint Participation and Involvement in the Mission”;
• Synodal Forum II: “Priestly Existence Today”;
• Synodal Forum III: “Women in Ministries and Offices in the Church”
• Synodal Forum IV: “Life in succeeding relationships - Living Love in Sexuality and Partnership”.

The 30 to 35 members of each forum are elected by the Synodal Assembly. They are joined by other experts. Each forum is chaired by a dual leadership structure consisting of a bishop and a lay representative.
Read more: Synodalforen (Synodal Forums)

The Synodal Committee is responsible for the preparation and follow-up of the Synodal Assemblies. It includes the President and the Vice-President of the German Bishops’ Conference and the President and the Vice-President of the Central Committee of German Catholics.
Read more: Synodalpräsidium (Synodal Committee)

The statutes of the Synodal Path regulate the interaction of the bodies of the Synodal Path. They control the topics, participation channels and decision-making structures as well as the publication of results and resolutions. The central bodies are the Synodal Assembly, various Synodal Forums and a Synodal Committee. In addition to members of the Synodal Path, these also include other experts and specialists. The Synodal Path is led by a committee with equal representation from the German Bishops' Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK). The statutes came into force at the end of November 2019 after being approved by the German Bishops' Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics.
Read more: Download statutes (pdf file)
 

The Synodal Assembly has adopted rules of procedure. They form the operational basis for a structured way of working in the bodies of the Synodal Path. The rules of procedure contain regulations for convening and chairing meetings, for coordinating deliberations, for motions and voting and other, more general provisions (dispatch of documents, keeping minutes). The rules of procedure which are subordinate to the statutes of the Synodal Path were adopted by the Synodal Assembly on 31 January 2020.
Read more: Download rules of procedure (pdf file)

The Synodal Path started on 1 December 2019 (First Advent and beginning of the new ecclesiastical year). Before this, there had been a time of preparation after the German Bishops’ Conference, together with the Central Committee of German Catholics, had decided to follow a structured path.

The planning and preparations for the Synodal Path envisaged a duration of two years without formally setting this deadline. This should create flexibility/openness for the common struggle for answers to the challenges which became obvious during the evaluation of the study “Sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests, deacons and male members of orders in the domain of the German study Bishops’ Conference” (MHG). In December 2021, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated delays, the Synodal Committee decided to extend the process until spring 2023 and thus hold five Synodal Assemblies. Three years after its last meeting, the Synodal Assembly will meet again under the leadership of the Synodal Committee to evaluate the implementation of the results of the Synodal Path.

The first Synodal Assembly took place from 30 January to 1 February 2020, followed by regional conferences on 4 September and an online conference on 4/5 February 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The second Synodal Assembly followed from 30 September to 2 October 2020. The other dates were 3 to 5 February 2022 for the third Synodal Assembly, 8 to 10 September 2022 for the fourth Synodal Assembly and 9 to 11 March 2023 for the fifth Synodal Assembly.

The Synodal Path is a continuous process and therefore decisions may be brought about and made “along the way” and “at the end”. The developments and results of the process are communicated transparently and in a comprehensible manner through the homepage www.synodalerweg.de.

According to Article 13 of the statutes of the Synodal Path, the Synodal Assembly, chaired by the Synodal Committee, will meet again three years after its last meeting to evaluate the implementation of the results of the Synodal Path. This will be in 2026.

The Synodal Path of the Catholic Church in Germany serves the joint search for steps to strengthen the Christian witness. The aim is to clarify key areas of action, in particular to combat the systemic causes of sexual abuse and at the same time to achieve an inner renewal of the Church in Germany. The four focal points of the Synodal Path were reflected in four forums: ‘Power and separation of powers in the Church - Joint participation and involvement in the mission’, ‘Life in successful relationships - Living love in sexuality and partnership’, ‘Priestly existence today’, ‘Women in ministries and offices in the Church’.
Read more:
-    MHG study of the German Bishops’ Conference (MHG-Studie der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz)
-    Press report on the 2019 spring plenary assembly of the German Bishops’ Conference in Lingen (resolution to embark on a Synodal Path)/(Pressebericht zur Frühjahrs-Vollversammlung 2019 der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz in Lingen (Beschluss für einen Synodalen Weg)

Why a Synodal Path: At its Spring Plenary Assembly 2019 in Lingen, the German Bishops’ Conference decided to “embark on a Synodal Path” together with the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK). The “Synodal Path” is not a (canonically) defined format, but one of its own kind (sui generis). It may also be shaped and developed in the process of walking along the Path.

This corresponds to the demand on the Synodal Path which Cardinal Reinhard Marx formulated on behalf of the Bishops’ Conference following the Lingen Plenary Assembly: “Faith can only grow and deepen if one becomes free from thinking blockades, if one faces up to the free and open debate and develops the ability to take new positions and to go new ways”.

In his letter to the “Pilgrim People of God in Germany”, Pope Francis writes on 29 June 2019: “It is essentially a synodos, a common path under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But that means going out together with the whole Church under the light of the Holy Spirit, under His guidance and rousing, to learn to listen and to recognize the ever-new horizon He wants to give us.”

The binding nature of the findings of such a path is the responsibility of all those who are officially involved in it. Depending on the matter, the Apostolic See and/or the local bishop are responsible for the implementation.

Why not a Synod: A Synod is a format clearly defined by canon law, in which everything is regulated from the setting of topics to the constitution of the participants and their competences. A Synod requires the approval of the Holy See, which is often only granted after a lengthy procedure. This slows down the necessary speed in dealing with the issues at hand.

In the current situation, a Synodal Path sui generis initiates a concentrated debate on the current challenges. It makes it possible to discover an “extended horizon” that opens up new spaces in which innovative action can be taken.

The Synodal Path is designed as a format “between” a Synod and the discussion process (Gesprächsprozess) it was initiated by the German Bishops’ Conference in the years 2011 to 2015 as a spiritual process. At that time - starting from different perspectives - the question should be pursued which challenges the Church faced in her essential self-actualizations and which relation existed thereby to the landmark statements of the Second Vatican Council. In that format, the laity only had an advisory function with regard to the bishops. No binding decisions were made.

Two partners, i.e. the German Bishops’ Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), are working together on the Synodal Path. Their cooperation is regulated by clear structures to which all are bound.

The German Bishops’ Conference and each individual diocesan bishop may adopt the decisions of the Synodal Assembly concerning a matter whose legal regulation at the level of the particular Church falls within their respective authority and competence. Decisions acquire legal effect if they are published as General Decrees of the German Bishops’ Conference in the Official Gazette of the President or as diocesan laws by the respective diocesan bishop in the diocesan Official Gazette. The Apostolic See decides on the implementation of decisions which are of universal church relevance.
Read more: Resolutions and further texts on the Synodal Path

Binding decisions are made by the bodies of the Synodal Path through their regulated voting procedures. All pending questions can be brought in and discussed without restriction in the process of the Synodal Path and can also be transformed into a draft resolution.
Questions that concern the Universal Church, i.e. not only a diocese or the German Bishops’ Conference, must be placed in the supra-diocesan context and find their answers in it. Such decisions may be addressed to the Apostolic See as a resolution passed by the Synodal Path. Beyond that it is to be noted: In every (arch)diocese the local bishop is ultimately the one who makes the decisions within the framework of his rights and duties.

In his letter of 29 June 2019, to the “Pilgrim People of God in Germany”, the Pope gave an answer to this question. In the opening words of his letter the Pope writes about his motive: “I (...) want to be close to you and share your concern for the future of the Church in Germany. We are all aware that we are living not only in a time of change, but rather in a turning point in history that raises new and old questions, in the face of which a debate is justified and necessary”. How the curial administration is to be integrated depends on the potential scope of the decisions/recommendations of the Synodal Path.

Appropriate communication of the deliberations and decisions of the Synodal Path is the task of the Synodal Committee. Furthermore, comprehensive information is provided by the invitation of the Apostolic Nuncio in Germany to participate as an observer in the synodal assemblies.
Read more: Documents, speeches and contributions

Pope Francis' letter to the pilgrim people of God in Germany (29 June 2019) has a special significance for the foundation of the path, for its spiritual dimension. The Pope's letter is to be understood in this sense: A true encouragement for the common struggle for a successful proclamation of the Gospel in the face of the crisis of faith and abuse in our cultural area. It takes up the Pope's admonition that the process must not engage in structural debates, but should be a process guided by the Spirit of God. However, those aspects that relate to the universal church level are not subject to a ban on discussion. They will be reflected upon against the background of the proclamation of faith in Germany. The corresponding results, possibly combined with a vote (for action), will be forwarded to the Vatican.
Read more: Documents, speeches and contributions

The Synodal Path of the Catholic Church in Germany and the worldwide synodal process convened by Pope Francis are two different paths that pursue a common goal: The Good News of the Gospel is to become visible and liveable again under the ‘signs of the times’ in the here and now. It is about community, strengthening faith, participation and mission, focussing on the proclamation of the Christian testimony of faith. Both synodal paths complement each other, but exist independently of each other.
Read more: Themendossier Bischofssynode Synodale Kirche 2021-2024 (Topic dossier Synod of Bishops Synodal Church 2021-2024)

The Synodal Path of the Catholic Church in Germany serves the common search for steps to strengthen Christian witness. The aim is to clarify central areas of concern:

• Synodal Forum I: “Power and separation of powers in the Church – Joint participation and involvement in the mission”
  The Synodal Path deals on the one hand with the issue of the clerical abuse of power. It aims to clarify what needs to be done to control the exercise of power and to find procedures to achieve a distribution of power and participation in decision-making. On the other hand, it aims to contribute to the establishment of a more just and legally binding order.
• Synodal Forum II: “Priestly existence today”
  The Synodal Path asks how we want to be Christians in Germany today and which ministries and ways of life serve the mission of the Church in the world. Celibacy is highly valued as an expression of the personal relationship with Jesus Christ. To what extent it has to belong to the priest’s witness in the Church will be discussed.
• Synodal Forum III: “Women in ministries and offices in the Church”
  In addition, the Synodal Path will discuss the question of the role of women in the Church. The Synodal Path is about bringing the relevance of faith and Church back into the social debate and at the same time finding answers to questions within the Church. This is only possible in a community of women and men in the Church.
• Synodal Forum IV: “Life in succeeding relationships - Living love in sexuality and partnership”
  Another topic of the Synodal Path is the sexual morality of the Church, the proclaimed contents of which do not give orientation to the vast majority of the faithful. It is to be clarified how decisive insights from theology and human sciences are received and how the awareness of the individual significance of sexuality can be strengthened.

Read more: Synodalforen (Synodal Forums)

The Synodal Path came into being due to the results of the MHG study. This means: Because of the study there are clear tasks which continuously play a role in dealing with the topic and which are already under way and therefore not part of the Synodal Path.
Read more: Themenseite Sexualisierte Gewalt und Prävention auf der Internetseite der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz (Topic page Sexualised violence and prevention on the website of the German Bishops’ Conference)

Evangelization is the overarching goal of the Synodal Path. It is expressed in the question of the relevance of faith and the Church today. However, the Synodal Path must look for answers to urgent questions in order to be able to overcome the crises of faith and abuse.

Since the first Advent of 2019, the website www.synodalerweg.de has provided continuous and transparent information about the Synodal Path of the Church in Germany. Further information about the Synodal Path could be found on the Facebook page and on the Instagram account of the Synodal Path. Since January 2020, the Synodal Path was also present on X.

Since we are dealing with a Synodal Path of the Catholic Church in Germany, it is important that the common struggle is not only supported by two institutions, but by the “Pilgrim People of God in Germany”. For this it is necessary that the individual parts of the constituted Church and the Catholic associations and movements get involved in their own way: be it concretely through the participation of a representative in the Synodal Path, be it through written statements and comments on the events, be it through participation in information events (e.g. Catholic Academies), through media interaction (Social Media) or also through intercessory prayer.

The form "Your opinion" was available until 23 January 2020 to submit entries to the four Forums of the Synodal Path. The Synodal Path office has received over 5,300 "opinions" in this way. These "opinions" were initially included in the first Synodal Assembly from 30 January to 1 February 2020 in Frankfurt/Main. They were then prepared to be used for the work of the four Forums and submitted to them.