Cardinal Marx blames ‘coordinated reactionaries’ online for opposition to Synodal Way

(LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Reinhard Marx has claimed that reactionary Catholics online are engaging in coordinated propaganda against Germany’s Synodal Way.

In an interview with Herder Korrespondez, Marx was asked whether he was annoyed by the narrative that the Catholic Church in Germany would cause a schism through its Synodal Way.

“Yes, that has bothered me. Who actually stirred this up?” he asked.

“This is also a phenomenon of social media, especially in the more reactionary camp. They are very well coordinated, especially in the United States. This applies to politics, and it also applies to the Church. The other side isn’t as active there.”

“I have repeatedly pointed out to both Francis and Leo XIV that propaganda is taking place,” he stated.

When asked whether he thinks Pope Leo is more open-minded toward “German Catholicism” than his predecessor, the cardinal said, “As far as Germany is concerned, Francis did indeed have some concern that our approach was too heavily influenced by Protestantism.”

“I didn’t think that was fair,” he added.

“We have our own culture, which is shaped by the fact that we experienced this schism in the Church and are now on an ecumenical path.”

“The point is that we also learn from others, because the Catholic Church, too, has become poorer as a result of the separation and is therefore incomplete today,” Marx claimed. “Some people don’t want to admit that.”

“In terms of communication, it would certainly have been better to talk to one another more,” he said in regard to the strained relationship with the Vatican over the heretical Synodal Way.

“Perhaps, however, we too – myself included – should have sought dialogue beforehand,” he continued.  “But I admit, I was worried that we would then not have made any progress. Now the task is to effectively combine our synodal path with the universal Church’s process.”

Marx said that he feels like Pope Leo “is very keen to truly speak with everyone and to listen.”

“He doesn’t want to simply decide something spontaneously, but is first interested in the opinions of many different people.”

Marx expressed his confidence in good relations with the Vatican under Pope Leo: “He has already granted audiences to quite a few German bishops who requested them. So he is interested in listening to what is going on.”

“This was already evident after the ad limina visit in the fall of 2022. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost belonged to the group of cardinals who were in favor of dialogue. Many of the participants in the agreed-upon discussions later confirmed to me that he was the one with whom one could speak well. After that, things improved significantly,” he concluded.