Who’s in charge here?

When the German bishops asked for a Vatican judgment on their “Synodal Path” plans to allow lay people to deliver homilies, the response from Rome was clear: Negative. No can do.

BUT…

The president of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), which claims equal footing with the bishops on the Synodal Path, has “not been involved” in the request for Vatican approval. Therefore, reasons Irma Stetter-Karp, that request— and the Vatican reply— aren’t binding. She concludes:

We therefore expect the German bishops to reaffirms their position on the matter to Rome, to strengthen their arguments, and under no circumstance to interpret [the Vatican response] as a discouragement.

The Vatican says Stop. The ZdK says Full Speed Ahead. Both instructions are unmistakably clear; it won’t be easy for the German bishops’ conference to split the difference and satisfy both demands. But count on it: they’ll try.