How deeply split are Germany’s bishops?

Cardinal Woekli said recently that "our Church in Germany is more polarized than ever,” but how deep is the divide, and where are the fault lines?

In a recent address to members of Cologne’s archdiocesan council, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki offered a bleak portrait of the Catholic Church in Germany.

Flags at the third plenary assembly of Germany’s synodal way in Frankfurt on Feb. 3, 2022. © Synodaler Weg/Maximilian von Lachner.

The country’s “synodal way,” he said, had proven to be far from synodal…