German Catholic laity sees Church at risk with new conservative pope

ZdK president Irme Stetter-Karp told dpa that the Church requires leadership capable of meeting the demands of the 21st century. She said the election of a conservative pope would likely pose a significant challenge for the Catholic Church in Germany.

She acknowledged the presence of forces within the Catholic Church that wish to maintain clerical power and view too much freedom for the faithful as a threat to Church unity. “This risk exists, and it is not small.”

The ZdK represents the Catholic laity, the non-clergy in local parishes. Together with the German Bishops’ Conference, the ZdK initiated a reform process in 2019, the Synodal Path.

This focused on reforms within the Church concerning lay preaching and same-sex couples, moves that infuriated conservatives, prompting some to speak of a schism and heresy.

Surveys have repeatedly shown that the majority of German Catholics support liberalizing reforms, including more rights for women and a shift in the Church’s stance on sexual morality.