Germany: General Assembly of the Bishops’ Conference. The effects of the pandemic on the life of the Church and the Synodal Path

From 22nd to 24th September, Fulda will host the autumn session of the General Assembly of the German Bishops’ Conference (Dbk). It will be attended by the 69 members of the Bishops’ Conference, led by their president, the bishops of Limburg, mgr. Georg Bätzing. Because of the continued restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 virus, the Bishops will hold a shorter assembly, 3 days instead of the planned 4 days, and in a large enough room in the City Palace, provided by the Municipality of Fulda, to comply with the social distancing rules due to the pandemic. The apostolic nuncio, mgr. Nikola Eterović, will be at the opening session too. The key issues on the Assembly’s agenda will include an extensive analysis of the effects of the pandemic on the life of the Church and an exchange of views about the further progress of the Synodal Path, especially after the regional conferences that have recently taken place. The General Assembly will also deal with the 2019 Church statistics and the instruction of the Congregation for the Clergy on parishes. New considerations will also be made on the problem of abuse, in the light of the publication of the figures of the cases that happened within religious Orders and families. Two issues that will be expressly dealt with will be the analysis of a text on funeral services and liturgical celebrations in difficult and catastrophic times.
Valentina Bombelli