On a recent visit to Rome, Msgr. Lopez-Gallo writes, the opinions of the cardinals were “extremely divided according to their liberal or traditional points of view.”
It is well known that as soon as a new Pope is presented to the
world from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica there is speculation on the
length of his reign and the thoughts of the cardinals turn to the question of
his successor.
Pope Francis, although 80 years of age now, does not seem to be running out of steam. On the contrary, his agenda is so full and, despite having a part of his lungs removed, his energy is so strong that everybody would bet that his pontificate will be long.
During my recent visit to Rome in October, I was disturbed by the discord among the cardinals, the highest and most qualified electors of the next pontiff. Their opinions were extremely divided according to their liberal or traditional points of view.
Let me therefore present the theological opinions of both currents, some of them even touching the point of schism or heresy.
The ones whose theological opinion is of the extreme left are some Germans who have manifested their thoughts for radical changes in the Church, favouring same-sex religious marriage, the suppression of priestly celibacy, admission of women to the priesthood, holy Communion for those civilly remarried without a declaration of nullity for the previous marriage, etc.
Has the fabulous wealth of the Church in Germany impoverished its spirituality? How did this paradox occur at the heart of Teutonic Catholicism?
The Catholic Church in Germany is enormously rich and continues to wield significant influence both at home and abroad, not least in the Vatican. The fact that it is so wealthy is due to the fiscal system of the state which prescribes that Christians pay an amount equal to an additional 8 or 9 per cent of their income tax. The total amount received is given to the denomination to which they belong.
Even though there has been a dramatic decline in the membership of the faithful, especially in their attendance at Mass and participation in the sacraments, the Catholic Church received the record sum of well over 6 billion euros in 2016, despite the continuing decline in Church membership.
Here are the latest figures given by the German Bishops Conference: In 2016, 160,000 Catholics left the Church, while only 2,574 were converted (most of them from Lutheranism). In the same year, the total number of priests in Germany was 13,856 – a fall of more than 200 from the previous year. Marriages, confirmations, and other sacraments are all in decline, and the sacrament of reconciliation has, to all intents and purposes, disappeared from many parishes.
From 1950 to 1960, the number of Catholics attending Sunday Mass was quite stable, around 11.7 million every year. Then, from 1965 onwards, attendance began to drop – from 10.2 million in 1970 to 7.8 million in 1980, down to 4.4 million in 2000.
By 2015, a mere 2.5 million Catholics went to church on Sunday. Meanwhile, the overall number of Catholics stands at 23.8 million – just under a third of the total population. It is not surprising that last year only one in 10 Catholics attended Mass on Sunday, down by one third from 2000.
But, thanks to the booming German economy, the departure of many thousands of Catholics every year has not made a dent in the ecclesial coffers. What is more, many activities of the Church are fully or partly funded by the state, including educational institutes and even the salaries of most bishops.
Far from being greedy or avaricious, the German Catholic Church runs a large network of charitable organizations that contribute aid and assistance to the tune of hundreds of millions of euros abroad. In 2015, projects in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe received more than 451 million euros in funding from German Catholic organizations.
“The faith has evaporated in Germany,” said Cardinal Friedrich Wetter who was Archbishop of Munich from 1982 to 2007. He succeeded Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in this role, and was the predecessor of Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the current archbishop and, in theology, one of the most liberal, as I will describe next week.
Is this spiritual decline a sign of the death of Catholicism in Germany? The words of Jesus can be applied here: Non potestis Deo servire et mamonae – “You cannot serve two masters. Either you hate one and love the other or be attentive to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Mt 6:24).