Vatican cardinals tasked with Catholic Church doctrine expressed scepticism on Thursday regarding the Synodal Path reforms put forward by the German Church on, among other things, the ordination of women.
A discussion on opening up the priesthood to women was inappropriate, said Cardinal Luis Ladaria, head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
He noted that the documents put out thus far by the Synodal Path movement were based on assertions that were not fully supported.
While the Spanish cardinal made the remarks last week during a meeting with German bishops in Rome, they were published only on Thursday by the Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano.
Referring to sexual abuse within the Church over decades, Ladaria said the Church should not be seen as an organization that had created the conditions for abuse, charging that Synodal Path was giving this impression.
He also expressed opposition to ideas on sexual teaching within the Church put forward by the German reformers.
A further point of conflict was Synodal Path's assessment of the future role of bishops following repeated scandals in Germany.
His fellow cardinal, Marc Ouellet, head of the Dicastery for Bishops, referred to the danger of a "latent schism" resulting from the Synodal Path movement, although this was not the movement's intention.
The Canadian cardinal said he suspected that the abuse cases were being used to push through unrelated ideas on Church reform, including those from German theologians who have clashed with Rome over past decades.
The Synodal Path is made up of an equal number of bishops and lay Catholics, plus members of religious orders. It began in 2019 and is set to conclude its proceedings in 2023.
