The president of the German Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, has made some comments about the upcoming second session of the Synod on the family, as the bishops of Germany are discussing the topic in their spring plenary in Hildesheim. While the full text of his words has not been published, we have to make do with interpretations, which is always risky business. Cardinal Marx, speaking for the conference as a whole, has rightly said that we should not reduce the Synod to the question of divorced and remarried Catholics, but of course that does happen, especially when the bishops explain their own intentions on this topic.

About the role of Rome in the pastoral realities of the local churches, Cardinal Marx said the following:

“We are not a subsidiary of Rome. Every  bishops’ conference is responsible for the pastoral care in their area and has to proclaim the Gospel in…