STEUBENVILLE, OHIO— Pope Francis personally responded to a November 6 letter he received from four women, including Dr. Katharina Westerhorstmann, professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville. The women had written to him to express their serious concerns about the Catholic Church in Germany.

In addition to Westerhorstmann, who teaches at Franciscan University’s study abroad program in Gaming, Austria, the other recipients included Dr. Marianne Schlosser, professor of theology at the University of Vienna, Austria, and member of the International Theological Commission of the Vatican; Dr. Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz, professor emeritus of philosophy of religion and comparative religious studies at the Technical University Dresden in Dresden, Germany; and Dorothea Schmidt, a freelance journalist and book author from Germany.

The four women drew global attention when they resigned earlier this year in February from the German “Synodal Way,” a multi-year gathering of German bishops and lay people. The primary discussion topics of the “Synodal Way” include how power is exercised in the Church, the priesthood, the role of women, and sexual morality.

As they explained at the time, Westerhorstmann and her colleagues could not in good conscience continue participating in a process they said was seeking to “completely redefine” the “essential foundations of Catholic theology, anthropology, as well as Church practice.”

Westerhorstmann said she and her colleagues recently decided to write to Pope Francis because of concerns about ongoing developments in the Church in Germany. A friend carried the letter to Rome for them and submitted it to the pope on November 8. In less than three days, he sent them a response.

“You have come to me with your concerns about the recent developments in the Church in Germany,” he wrote, according to a translation provided by Westerhorstmann. “I, too, share these worries about the numerous and concrete steps that have now been taken by large parts of this local Church which threaten to deviate further and further from the common path of the universal Church.”

Pope Francis singled out one of these steps, the formation of the “Synodal Committee” (Synodaler Ausschuss) that intends to establish a new advisory and decision-making council (Synodaler Rat), which, he said, “cannot be reconciled with the sacramental structure of the Catholic Church.”

“For this reason,” Pope Francis continued, “the establishment of this council was prohibited by the Holy See in a letter approved by me in specific form [in forma specifica] on January 16, 2023.”

Westerhorstmann said she and her colleagues were deeply gratified to receive such a prompt response from the pope himself.

“I am grateful for the pope’s clarity in his letter, especially regarding the sacramental structure of the Church,” said Westerhorstmann. “I’m convinced the clarity of his words will help not just the Church in Germany, but the entire Church to keep listening to the Holy Spirit within the communion of the universal Church. It can also remind the majority of the German bishops of their oath to remain in union with the successor of Peter.”

According to Westerhorstmann, in a follow-up letter, Pope Francis expressed his support for publicly sharing his written response. The pope’s letter was released to the media in Germany today.

The following is Westerhorstmann’s translation of the original letter from German into
English. The original letter in German can be found here.

From the Vatican, 10 November 2023

Dear Prof. Westerhorstmann,

Dear Prof. Schlosser,

Dear Prof. Gerl-Falkovitz,

Dear Ms. Schmidt,

I thank you for your kind letter from November 6. You have come to me with your concerns about the recent developments in the Church in Germany. I, too, share these worries about the numerous and concrete steps that have now been taken by large parts of this local Church which threaten to deviate further and further from the common path of the universal Church. These certainly include the formation of the Synodal Committee that you have mentioned, which is meant to prepare an advisory and decision-making council in a form that cannot be reconciled with the sacramental structure of the Catholic Church. For this reason, the establishment of this council was prohibited by the Holy See in a letter approved by me in forma specifica on January 16, 2023.

Instead of seeking “salvation” in various new councils and committees and discussing the same topics in a certain insular fashion, I wanted to call to mind the necessity of prayer, penance, and adoration in my “Letter to the Pilgrim People of God in Germany,” thereby extending the invitation to go out and meet “our brothers and sisters, especially those who are abandoned at the threshold of our church doors, on the streets, in prisons, in hospitals, on squares and in cities” (Nr. 8). I am convinced: it is there where the Lord will show us the path.

I am grateful for your theological and philosophical work and for your witness of faith. May the Lord bless you and may the Blessed Virgin Mary protect you. Please continue to pray for me and for our common concern of unity.

United in the Lord,

FRANCIS