Cardinal Woelki leaves the German Synodal Way

Cardinal Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki of Cologne bid farewell to the German Synodal Way and said he will not participate in the upcoming sixth assembly, which will begin on January 29.

«For me, the Synodal Way is over,» he said in an interview with German Church radio station Domradio. Originally, five sessions had been agreed upon, «and I participated in them,» he said.

Cardinal Woelki argued that theological clarification of the project, begun in 2019, is urgently needed, adding, «I am truly convinced that all those involved, including those on the Synodal Way, ultimately want what is best for the Church.».

However, he noted that opinions on the path to achieve this are different.

Origin of the German Synodal Way

The German Synodal Path was launched as a reform process in response to a 2018 report known as the Mannheim, Heidelberg and Gießen study, or MHG, which documented widespread sexual abuse by clergy in Germany between 1946 and 2014. The findings sparked public outrage and pressured German bishops to address systemic failures within the Church. Originally planned as a two-year initiative, the Synodal Path was extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and finally concluded in 2023.

Its stated aim was to examine issues such as the exercise of power in the Church, sexual morality, priestly life and the role of women, in the context of the abuse crisis.

However, the process quickly became the subject of controversy, mainly due to calls to revise the Church's traditional teachings on homosexuality, the ordination of women and priestly celibacy.

Bishops around the world warned that the Synodal Way risked separating German Catholics from the universal Church, arguing that it relied too much on sociological and political ideologies rather than on Scripture and tradition.

In 2022, the Vatican formally declared that the Synodal Way had no authority to change doctrine or governance, a move that German Church leaders publicly criticized. Pope Francis himself expressed deep concern and warned that the process was driven by elites and ideology, rather than the Holy Spirit, comments that further aggravated tensions between Rome and the German bishops.

Woelki's opinion

Cardinal Woelki told Domradio that he had the impression that «from a certain point on, the Synodal Way in Germany became mainly the implementation of certain political-ecclesiastical positions» and that not everything can be discussed without preconceived ideas. «To give a deliberately exaggerated example: we cannot vote on whether Jesus rose from the dead,» the Cologne prelate said.

The late Pope Francis, as well as his successor, Pope Leo XIV, «repeatedly stressed that synodality is a spiritual process, a tool for evangelization.» According to this interpretation, synodality without evangelization is «simply inconceivable,» Cardinal Woelki told Domradio.

Therefore, the synodal assembly «does not have the task of evaluating what a local bishop or a particular diocese has implemented from the decisions of the Synodal Way».

For the Cardinal, synodality means «listening attentively to one another; everyone can contribute his or her perspective. And above all: listening together to what the Holy Spirit is telling us, deliberating and discerning together».

Common values

However, the final decision rests with «the one who has been invested with the office,» the Archbishop of Cologne stressed. In the Catholic Church, the bishop has «the power of final decision over his diocese, a power conferred on him by Christ himself.».

«I promised to protect the faith of the Church and to walk the path in my diocese in unity with the Pope. I intend to continue to keep this promise,» the cardinal said, adding that, at the same time, he finds it «difficult to accept the idea of being part of a body in which 27 diocesan bishops, 27 members of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) and 27 other members yet to be elected deliberate and decide together.» And that, ultimately, is what the Synodal Way is all about, «even if one tries to express it in another way,» he said.

Cardinal Woelki described the current polarization within the German Bishops« Conference as a burden, stating, »The tensions worry me because I do not want to suggest that anyone does not want the best." He also emphasized the importance of maintaining dialogue.

Speaking about the world political situation, the cardinal said, «Where power is synonymous with reason, society and morality become brutalized. Human dignity is violated and personal rights are ignored. This leads to a dehumanized society.».

Cardinal Woelki concluded the interview by stressing the need to re-establish a set of common values: «Dialogue instead of violence, reliability, protection of the vulnerable, solidarity and justice».