Just Before Retiring: German Bishop Speaks Up Against German Bishops

When individual German bishops make [controversial] statements, they should not speak as "we" or "the bishops" or "the Church," Augsburg Bishop Konrad Zdarsa, 74, Germany, told the German Bishops’ news agency KNA (May 23) with an obvious allusion to Munich Cardinal Reinhard Marx,

"I do not want to be automatically included when some confreres make statements, because I have a decidedly different opinion on some things."

Zdarsa also criticised the "Synodal Way" announced in order to exploit "sexual abuses" in the Church. He calls this name a "tautology", "nonsense" and “fraudulent labelling”.

The Bishops' Conference claimed that the "Synodal Way" was agreed on unanimously. But Zdarsa stresses that he "visibly" abstained from voting.

Zdarsa turns 75 in June and is about to retire. He has decided to return to Dresden, Eastern Germany, where he grew up.

Picture: Konrad Zdarsa, © pba, Bernd Müller CC BY-SA, #newsBsxxeoycsj