Vatican City, Sep 20, 2019 / 07:25 am
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the German Episcopal Conference, has held talks with Pope Francis and Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, about the German bishops' plans for a "binding synodal path."
The meetings, held in Rome Sept. 19, followed a public exchange between the German hierarchy and the Vatican over the draft statutes for a "Synodal Assembly" to be formed by the bishops in partnership with the Central Committee of German Catholics.
In a media release issued by the German bishops' conference on Friday, Marx called the meetings "constructive," but offered no details about any further instructions given by the pope or the Curia concerning the synodal plans.
"In both talks, a constructive dialogue took place, which will feed into the deliberations of the general assembly of the German Episcopal Conference next week." The release noted that Marx was in Rome for meetings of the pope's Council of Cardinal Advisors, and the Vatican Council for the Economy, both of which Marx is a member.