The president of the German bishops' conference this week welcomed progress in a national
dialogue on the Catholic Church's future. Archbishop Robert Zollitsch said he hoped
the dialogue would be advanced by the church's Katholikentag festival in May and a
national eucharistic congress in 2013. A March 1 bishops' conference statement
said the dialogue was about "the challenge of social pluralism to the church and how
best to demonstrate the church's public and charitable purposes.” The head of Vatican
Radio’s German Section, Jesuit Father Bernd Hagenkord, explained this dialogue has
been in response to recent crises in the Church in Germany. “After the crisis of
abuse, after other crises, the financial crisis as well, the Church started about
a year ago a process of dialogue, and meetings all over Germany,” he said.
Listen
to the full interview by Emer McCarthy with Father Hagenkord: