German bishop calls for radical reform

DÜSSELDORF (GERMANY)
Church Militant

July 24, 2020

by William Mahoney, Ph.D.

Ordaining women remains an open question for a German bishop who believes radical reform in the Church is necessary.

“I consider the reform process in the Church to be essential,” said Bp. Heiner Wilmer of Hildesheim, Germany in an interview published Monday with German newspaper Rheinische Post. “I am in favor of an open discussion and personally trust in the Holy Spirit,” said the German prelate, who explained everything must be brought to the table, including the ordination of women and eradicating mandatory priestly celibacy.

Subscribing to Pope Francis’ “accompaniment” model of the Church, Wilmer said in the interview that the Church’s mission is “to be with the people and make sure that the increasing cold in our society is transformed back into warmth.” Key to living out that model is putting “people” at the forefront, according to the bishop. “People, not institutions, must be at the center of all reforms,” he said.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.