Mock, who headed the Synodal Way’s working group on sexuality, is a staunch supporter of German public defiance of the Vatican on blessing same-sex unions.
In a recent attempt to bridge the deep concerns and growing divide, German bishops and representatives of the Roman Curia met at the Vatican on July 26 to continue discussions on “the theological and disciplinary issues that have emerged in particular in the ‘Synodal Way.’”
According to a joint statement from the Vatican and the German Bishops’ Conference, the meeting took place in a “positive and constructive climate” and will be followed by further meetings.
The German delegation included Bishops Georg Bätzing, Stephan Ackermann, Michael Gerber, Bertram Meier, and Franz-Josef Overbeck. The secretary general of the bishops’ conference, Beate Gilles, and the spokesman, Matthias Kopp, were also present. Five department heads and a secretary participated on the Vatican side, including Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.
German bishops who have spoken in favor of blessing same-sex couples include Bätzing, president of the German bishops’ conference; Munich Cardinal Reinhard Marx; Bishop Franz-Josef Bode of Osnabrück; Bishop Helmut Dieser of Aachen; Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz; and Bishop Heinrich Timmerevers of Dresden-Meissen.
Overbeck of Essen has publicly said he would not take disciplinary action against priests who blessed same-sex couples.