Germany: The Great Catholic Chess Game



The German Catholic Church is the wealthiest of any country. Rome needs its share of that wealth. Germany, however, needs to guard access to its cash flow. This cash flow requires that Bishops alien with popular political values. We have to remember the European way of paying churches. It is for the government to collect a voluntary payment earmarked for the church and turn it over accordingly. 

Pope Leo has pledged to hold the "One Church" together. He says this with even more conviction than did Francis. The German Bishops see this as their checkmate. Rome will have to allow gay marriages by priests and women as priests as Germans demand. Rome will have to either approve or find some way to ignore. It needs German money more than German Catholics need Rome.

German Catholics see a church of the future as one which has a lot of democracy. How clergy and the public together see things will lead to its version of the truth. This is a good way, also, to keep government in the mix to collect money for the church. Democracy within the Catholic denomination is a terrible idea to Rome. To Rome, Jesus told Peter to run the church, not take votes about the church. Pope Leo then it Peter's current rep and should do as Jesus supposedly told Peter. All this, we can safely assume, never happened. 

There is no question German Catholics will adopt gay marriage, married priests and women clergy. The only thing we don't know is when they will play these cards.

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