Cardinal Marx: German bishops favor allowing Communion for divorced/remarried

December 22, 2014

The president of the German bishops' conference has said that the bishops favor allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to share in the Eucharist.

Cardinal Reinhard Marx said that most bishops support 'differentiated solutions that do justice to the individual case and under certain conditions allow admission to the sacraments.” Cardinal Marx-- who is also a member of the Council of Cardinals-- had signaled his own support for the "Kasper proposal" during October's meeting of the Synod of Bishops. But he took an additional step by saying that the German episcopal conference as a body would back the proposal.

The German bishops face their own vote on a related issue early next year. The Catholic Church is the 2nd-largest employer in Germany, and current policy bars the hiring of divorced-and-remarried Catholics (or others living in irregular unions) from employment in Church agencies. Several German bishops have called for a change in that policy, and claimed that a majority of the country's bishops support the step. A vote on the issue is scheduled for April 2015.

 

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Further information:

• German bishops signal opening for some divorcees (AP)
• German bishops ready to change policy, allow divorced/remarried and homosexual employees (CWN, 12/16)