The German bishops are facing an ordeal following a reprimand from the Vatican. The Vatican had asked the Bishops' Conference to remove a planned vote on the statutes of the intended reform body, the Synodal Committee, from the agenda.
The Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) expressed irritation at the Vatican's intervention. The intervention from the highest authorities demonstrates Rome's "panicked fear that in the future bishops in Germany will have to seek binding advice from the faithful," says Münster canon lawyer Thomas Schüller.