Alarm: Church Is Falling Apart as A Sacramental Institution

Alarm: The sacramental nature of the Church is in danger, said the Munich liturgist Father Winfried Haunerland to the Herder Korrespondenz in June. Haunerland is a priest of Essen Diocese, the diocese that in March for the first time in Germany appointed women as ministers of baptism. Haunerland's article also appeared - as a fig leaf - on Katholisch.de. This site, run by the German bishops, is an extremist mouthpiece for women's ordination and homosexualism.

Exceptions Become the Rule. Haunerland criticises the fact that so-called exceptions - for example, the administration of baptism by lay people - are becoming more frequent. But if such phenomena become the norm, the awareness dwindles, that bishops, priests, and deacons are the ordinary ministers of baptism. The fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders belongs only to bishops, Haunerland explains, however, priests do not act on the basis of an episcopal mandate, but on the basis of their sacramental ordination in persona Christi. This is not mandatory for the administration of baptism, but it is appropriate, he says.

Ministry without ordination. A few days after the appointment of lay baptisers in the Essen cathedral, a church women's conference in the diocese of Würzburg also demanded female baptismal ministers there. For Haunerland, this shows that this development is not an emergency solution but reveals a desire for change. Haunerland has even the heretical Cardinal Walter Kasper on his side who warns against a - quote - "ministry without ordination".

Side effects. Haunerland points out that the German Synodal Way has voted on whether it needs the priesthood at all. The irritations associated with this have not been cleared up at the recent plenary meeting. Haunerland has no problem with changing the - quote - "conditions of admission" to the priesthood. However, he does not want to jeopardise the sacramental character of the church with stopgap solutions. The church leadership, he said, must consider risks and side effects in addition to any hoped-for benefits.