German bishops' report: laity want change in Church teaching; many priests do not pray regularly
04/25/2015
The German Catholic bishops’ conference has made public a report on a survey of the faithful in preparation for the October meeting of the Synod of Bishops, finding a “gap between the lived reality of families and our communities” and the teachings of the Church.
The report complains of an “idealization of marriage and family” in Church teaching, and calls for the approval of new pastoral initiatives to help families that fall short. The bishops “expectations among the faithful are very high” that the Church will approve new policies. And the bishops recall the decision of their own episcopal conference to endorse a policy allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion.
In a separate report, the German bishops’ conference has released the results of a survey that found more than half (54%) of the country’s Catholic priests go to confession no more than once a year, and only 58% of German priests report that they pray every day.
Source: catholicculture.org
