(Katholisch).
The chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK), Georg Bätzing , is surprised and “somewhat irritated” by Pope Francis’ recent negative interview statements on the ordination of women in the Catholic Church . “I have never heard him speak like that before and have often spoken to him personally about these issues,” said the Limburg bishop on Monday evening in Frankfurt. “Let me say: for me, what the Pope says in interviews is not what he does in teaching – but what he decides to do and puts it down in official documents.”
In an interview with the US broadcaster CBS at Pentecost, the presenter asked the Pope whether a Catholic girl would ever have the opportunity to become a deacon and thus a member of the clergy. Francis’ answer was a simple “no”. When asked, he explained: “If they are ordained deacons, then no. But women have always, I would say, taken on the duties of a deacon without being a deacon. Women are great at serving as women – but not at serving with ordination.”