According to Germany’s ambassador to the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV intends to visit the central European country.
Bruno Kahl, 63, said to Colonge-based Catholic website, domradio.de, that it was too early to start planning the trip but Leo’s intentions were clear.
“On behalf of the Federal Government, I renewed the invitation previously extended by the Federal President and confirmed by the Federal Foreign Minister. The answer is already clear: he intends to come to Germany,” he said.
“However, the exact sequence of his upcoming trips is not yet fully defined. He himself says he advised his predecessor to visit Germany and will, of course, heed that advice. It is still too early for concrete planning, though,” he added.
Crux Now‘s request for comment from the Vatican press office was without immediate reply.
Kahl also said his impressions of the pope were very positive.
“I was very impressed,” Kahl said. “The Pope is approachable, open, straightforward, speaks in an uncomplicated, direct way, and makes you feel personally taken seriously,” he said.
“He is very quick-witted, humorous, and therefore an exceptionally pleasant conversationalist,” he also said.
Kahl had previously been critical of the Vatican’s stance on the war between Russia and Ukraine, particularly during Pope Francis’ pontificate, but he was more approving of Leo’s view on the conflict.
“First, I need to correct that somewhat,” he said when asked about his previous comments.
“Especially regarding the criticism of equidistance, there has been progress between the pontificate of Francis and that of Leo XIV. Pope Leo clearly identified who the aggressor and who the victim is. I have little criticism to offer there,” he said.
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Kahl also said that he himself is a Catholic.
“I am a very happy and very committed Catholic Christian. I try—as everyone tries—to live my convictions in everyday life. There are many opportunities to do this in professional contexts, whether it’s managing employees or representing the Church’s principles,” he revealed.
A complex relationship
The prospect of a papal trip to Germany is an intriguing one given the complex relationship between the Vatican and the German church in recent years.
Following a landmark study into sexual abuse in the Church in Germany in 2018, the German Church launched the “Synodal Path” in 2019, a series of meetings and consultations.
Among other things, this process has led to calls for ordination of women as priests and deacons, more lay involvement in the Church, and blessings of couples in same-sex relationships.
The Vatican has issued a number of warnings that the “Synodal Path” does not have the authority to change Church teaching.
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“In order to protect the freedom of the People of God and the exercise of episcopal ministry, it seems necessary to specify that the ‘Synodal Way’ in Germany has no power to oblige the bishops and the faithful to adopt new ways of governing and new approaches to doctrine and morals,” the Vatican said in a 2022 statement.
“It would not be lawful,” the Vatican continued, “to initiate in dioceses, before an agreement reached at the level of the universal Church, new official structures or doctrines, which would represent a wound to ecclesial communion and a threat to the unity of the Church.”
In 2023, Francis criticized the process as “elitist” and “ideological” during an interview with Associated Press.
In 2024, a video circulated online of Francis jokingly asking German bishop Jörg Michael Peters, Auxiliary Bishop of Trier, “Are you Catholic?”
In April of this year, German journalists asked Leo about comments made by Cardinal Reinhard Marx, in which the archbishop of Munich and Freising had said priests should bless couples in same-sex unions or in marriages not recognized as valid by the Catholic Church.
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In his response, Leo said the Holy See “has made it clear that we do not agree with the formalized blessing of couples, in this case, homosexual couples, as you asked, or couples in irregular situations, beyond what was specifically, if you will, allowed for by Pope Francis in saying all people receive blessings.”
There have also been public clashes as recently as this November.
RELATED: German bishop challenges pope’s comments on systemic abuse in the Church
Following Leo’s comments on the way back from his trip to France that abuse is “first and foremost a human problem”, Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg published a statement on his diocesan website criticizing him last week.
“Should the Church downplay or deny the systemic causes of sexualized violence, that would be a serious setback,” Bätzing said. “It would further hurt victims and jeopardize the credibility of the investigation.”
