First German Catholic diocese allows women to perform baptisms

America Magazine reports:

BERLIN (AP) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Essen has become the first in Germany to allow women to perform baptisms, citing a lack of priests.

The diocese said in a statement Monday that Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck tasked 18 lay ministers —17 of them women — with conferring the sacrament of admission into the Church at a ceremony over the weekend.

Until now only priests and deacons — functions the Catholic Church reserves for men — were allowed to perform baptisms.

“Time and again, the Church has reacted to external circumstances over the past 2,000 years,” said Theresa Kohlmeyer, who heads the diocese’s department of belief, liturgy and culture.

The measure is temporary and will initially last for three years.

Link to article:

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2022/03/15/german-women-baptism-242597

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Dublin diocese website carried the  Homily notes of Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin on the occasion of the canonisation of John Henry Newman.
“A Catholicism of self-defined certainties will lead eventually to a doubt about all certainties and thus to emptiness. A Catholicism of self-defined certainties and self-importance led to an authoritarian and harsh Irish Catholicism, with  consequences we know only too well.”
“I am astonished at the content and tone of daily messages on social media by Catholic pundits on the left and the right that are anything but kindly.  There are those who spend all day attacking and responding and feeling that in this they are defending the integrity of Church teaching.  The kindly light will never be defended by nastiness and bitterness.”

One Comment

  1. Soline Humbert says:

    First German Catholic diocese allows women…
    God only knows what churchmen will allow women to do next as a temporary stopgap for the lack of male priests and deacons!

    Reply

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