Faithful Catholics beg Pope Leo to stop official recognition of Germany’s Synodal Way

(LifeSiteNews) — A new Catholic lay group co-founded by Bishop Marian Eleganti has called on Pope Leo XIV to stop the German Synodal Way.

The newly established Pro Fide Ecclesiae (PFE) seeks to give voice to those who do not feel represented by Germany’s largest body of lay Catholics, the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), and who do not feel heard by the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK).

In an open letter to Pope Leo, the group calls on the Pontiff to deny canonical recognition to the so-called “Synodal Conference.”

“It is with great concern and deep dismay that we address you during these decisive weeks,” the group said. “The eyes of countless faithful Catholics in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland – as well as concerned Catholics in other countries, especially in Europe – are fixed on Rome.”

“In Italy, too, people are watching these developments with concern. The statutes of the so-called Synodal Committee for the planned Synodal Conference are currently under review in Rome. We are convinced that the future of the Catholic Church in Germany depends crucially on your decision.”

“We therefore urge you in the strongest possible terms: Deny the Synodal Conference recognition under canon law!”

“It aims to permanently alter the hierarchical constitution of the Church established by Christ,” PFE said in its letter. “The sacramental pastoral authority of the bishops is to be effectively subjected to democratic majority decisions. This contradicts not only canon law but also the divine constitution of the Church itself.”

“The planned Synodal Conference provides for bishops and laypeople to make binding decisions with equal voting rights. This relativizes the sacramental autonomy of the episcopal office and subjects it to a parliamentary logic.”

The Synodal Conference was conceived as a continuation of the heretical Synodal Way that seeks to change Church doctrine. In the conference, bishops, other clergy, and laity will discuss and decide on ecclesiastical matters together. According to its statutes, the Synodal Conference will consist of the 27 diocesan bishops of Germany, 27 lay members of the Central Committee for German Catholics (ZdK), and 27 other Catholics (potentially clergy or laity) voted for by the Synodal Assembly.

“We are already experiencing the bitter fruits of the so-called ‘Synodal Path,’” PFE stated in its open letter to the Pope. “Uncertainty, division, and deep conflicts prevail in our parishes. Many believers no longer know whom to look to for guidance. Priests are being pressured when they remain faithful to the Church’s traditional teaching. The unity of the faith is increasingly being replaced by polarizing majority decisions.”

“Under the legitimate concern to address sexual abuse, a reform process was created that has now gone far beyond this goal,” the group warned. “Today, central elements of Catholic doctrine, the sacramental order, and the ecclesiastical ministry are up for debate. The Synodal Conference is now intended to permanently institutionalize this development.”

“Synodality must never become a buzzword for the democratization, power control, or parliamentarization of the Church.”

“Where the sacramental responsibility of the bishops is replaced by committees, the pastoral office loses its divine and sacramentally representative character: the Good Shepherd is replaced by a collective; the apostolic office is reduced to a mere function and secularized,” PFE stated.

“We have therefore joined together in the Pro Fide Ecclesiae – Association of Faithful Catholics. Our goal is not confrontation, but fidelity to the Catholic faith as the Church presents it to us, to the apostolic tradition, and to the order of His Church established by Christ. We stand faithfully by the Successor of Peter and wish to strengthen those bishops who steadfastly adhere to the doctrine and the sacramental foundations of the Church,” the letter concluded.