Reform movement “Maria 2.0”: posting of theses for church reform

 The y are calling for women to be admitted to the office of ordination and for sexual abuse to be educated: In Germany, the “Maria 2.0” initiative demonstrated for a reform of the Catholic Church.  The  management lost credibility, say the women.

 The  Catholic reform movement “Maria 2.0” has supported its demands for reforms in the church with a posting of theses on cathedral and church doors throughout Germany.

 The re were campaigns in Munich, Würzburg, Augsburg, Cologne, Mainz and Freiburg, among others.

In the seven theses that were hung on numerous cathedral and church doors, the movement criticizes “blatant grievances in the Catholic Church” and names clericalism and abuse of power as well as dealing with sexualised violence and even cover-ups. She also advocates access for women to all offices in the Church and a renewed sexual morality.

“Trust deeply shaken”

Specifically, “Maria 2.0” calls for “a gender-equitable church with access for all people to all offices as well as the education, persecution and combating of the causes of sexual violence”.  The  initiative is also about the abolition of compulsory celibacy and a new Catholic sexual morality. This should no longer be “alien and discriminatory”, but respectful of all forms of “self-determined, mindful sexuality and partnership”.

In addition, the theses turn against “pomp, dubious financial transactions and personal enrichment of church decision-makers”. This would have profoundly shaken trust.  The  church must responsibly and sustainably manage the assets entrusted to it according to Christian principles.  The  church leadership gambled away credibility, it continues.

“Do not change the church overnight”

“Protest is certainly a legitimate means,” said the spokesman for the German Bishops’ Conference, Matthias Kopp. “But we cannot change the church overnight, we have to do it in a good and trusting dialogue.”

Kopp said he understood the unrest many believers felt in the church. “We know that changes are needed. That is why the German Bishops’ Conference launched the Synodal Way.”  The  Synodal Way is a reform process that deals, among other things, with Catholic sexual morality and the position of women in the Church.

Observation by the Vatican?

Maria 2.0 has been campaigning for the admission of women to all ordination offices, the abolition of compulsory celibacy and the complete and transparent investigation of cases of abuse in the Catholic Church since 2019. Even then, the initiative called for “church strikes” across the country.

 The  “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” reported at the beginning of February that the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was dealing with “Maria 2.0”.  The  stumbling block is said to be a protest by women’s rights activists against the reluctance to issue an abuse report by Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki from Cologne.