The German bishops’ conference has elected Bishop Heiner Wilmer of Hildesheim as its next president. Source: Catholic Review.
He will serve as president for a six-year term, succeeding Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, who chose not to seek reelection during the conference’s February 23-26 plenary assembly in Würzburg.
Bishop Wilmer has supported Germany’s controversial Synodal Way reforms, including blessings for same-sex couples and expanded roles for women.
At a press conference after his election on Tuesday, Bishop Wilmer expressed his gratitude to his fellow bishops for their trust and to Bishop Bätzing for leading “our conference in difficult times”.
Addressing German Catholics, the new president of the German bishops’ conference said they were the “living face of the Church” and that faith was a “source of strength” that provides “support and connects generations.”
“Pope Francis made clear to us that the Gospel is joy; a joy that sustains and moves us. Pope Leo continues this path with spiritual clarity,” he said.
“The worldwide synodal process has shown us how valuable it is to listen together. Synodality remains a spiritual attitude: journeying together, sharing responsibility, bearing decisions together.”
Bishop Wilmer also addressed victims and survivors of clergy sexual abuse, acknowledging that “their voices carry weight.”
“Every step of coming to terms with the past gains depth and truth through their testimony,” the bishop said. “Listening and reliability shape this path. In this way, a space can emerge in which dignity is protected and trust can grow anew.”
Bishop Wilmer was ordained a priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart Fathers, or Dehonians, in 1987. After serving as a provincial of his congregation in Bonn and Rome, he was appointed bishop of Hildesheim by Pope Francis in 2018.
Prior to his election as conference president, Bishop Wilmer served as chair of the bishops’ conference’s Commission for Social and Societal Issues as well as the Commission for Justice and Peace.
The new bishops’ conference president has also been a strong supporter of the controversial Synodal Way reform process in Germany.
The Synodal Way’s push for revising established Church teachings on homosexuality, women’s ordination and priestly celibacy prompted concerns by bishops around the world that it would set a dangerous precedent that would ultimately break German Catholics away from the universal Church.
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German bishops’ conference elects proponent of controversial Synodal Way as president (By Junno Arocho Esteves, OSV News via Catholic Review)
