"The problem lies in the system": As a consequence of the abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) has called for comprehensive reforms. "Inner-church, clerical power structures must be broken up in a timely manner," it says in a resolution adopted by the ZdK General Assembly in Bonn by a large majority.
Among other things, the Catholic laity demand equality of women and men in all ecclesiastical offices as well as the abolition of celibacy, ie the obligation of Catholic priests to celibacy. The church should redefine their sexual morality and "recognize the diverse life forms and realities of life," says the decision. The ZdK represents about 24 million Catholics.
The German Bishops' Conference (DBK) presented the results of an abuse study in September. Accordingly, between 1946 and 2014, at least 1670 clerics allegedly abused 3677 minors. In addition, the scientists in the study had identified problematic structures in the Catholic Church that could still promote abuse - such as celibacy and a pronounced clerical power of individual clergy.
"Deep moral crisis"
"It is now and not at some point the time to act," said ZdK President Thomas Sternberg in the direction of German bishops. "If there is nothing decisive in the near future, then the lost trust will not be regained." According to the ZdK, dealing with the abuse scandal is a test of the church's history, which will show "whether the institution church can overcome this deep moral crisis".
The abuse representative of the German Bishops' Conference, Stephan Ackermann, said in Cologne to the demands that bishops wanted to enter into an "open transparent dialogue process" on the celibacy. "The issue of sexual morality is a topic that needs to be talked about openly," said the Bishop of Trier. "I guess you will meet soon to see what that means for this further way."