After the arid years in which the German Episcopal Conference was headed by one of the worst prelates in contemporary Catholicism, Cardinal Lehmann, the new President of the German Episcopal Conference, Robert Zollitsch, Archbishop of Freiburg, shows that he is ready to battle his fellow countryman, the Bishop of Rome - who only last year solemnly confirmed that, in "continuity with the great ecclesial tradition", priestly celibacy "remains obligatory in the Latin tradition" (Sacramentum Caritatis, 24).
The German Church remains in the hands of a rebellious prelate, as Zollitsch confirms in an interview to the German weekly Der Spiegel (translation by Chris Gillibrand, of Catholic Church Conservation):
The German Church remains in the hands of a rebellious prelate, as Zollitsch confirms in an interview to the German weekly Der Spiegel (translation by Chris Gillibrand, of Catholic Church Conservation):
Head of German Catholics considers celibacy "not necessary"
For Catholics, it would be a revolution: Robert Zollitsch, the new chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, is considering an end to the celibacy. For priests to live without marrying, was "not theologically necessary," he says in SPIEGEL - and also let his understanding for the Greens and the SPD [Socialists] be known.
HAMBURG – Into his first few days in office - and he even dares to take on a mammoth project: the Archbishop of Freiburg and newly elected chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Robert Zollitsch said that he was against "a prohibition on thinking" about the subject of celibacy. In an interview with Spiegel, the 69-year-old said the link between the priesthood and celibacy was "not theologically necessary."
For the Catholic Church, this statement a radical departure from past practice. Zollitsch is also aware of this: A farewell to celibacy "would be a revolution, in which a part of the church would not take part," he says. A Council that would be needed, because the interior life of the entire church would be affected.
At the same time, Zollitsch advocates an opening of his church towards new social milieus. He went on to distance himself from statements of other bishops about kindergarten care. "Terms like 'Baby Bearing Machine' or 'stove bonus ' do not belong to my vocabulary and break down any discussion about the approach. We need nurseries because many parents simply are in need."
He spoke critically about the development of the CDU [the Conservative party, Christian Democratic Union], although that party shares "many Christian values in our sense." But, then Zollitsch added, "The CDU has become closer to more neoliberal theories - and thereby there is a danger in the social market economy that social issues are not kept firmly enough in mind." The proximity between the Catholic Church and the CDU was "very diminished". Furthermore, other parties such as the Socialists and the Greens appreciated "things that are important to us, more than ever before".
The Archbishop of Freiburg also canvassed for a better relationship with the Protestant Church. The Roman statement about what to be a church means triggered resentment among the Protestants. The Protestant Church "is a church. I cannot deny it."
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