Overview
- Delegates closed the final assembly in Stuttgart with a mixed assessment and endorsed continuing the reform effort through a proposed Synodalkonferenz.
- The planned body would institutionalize joint advising by bishops and laity to strengthen participation, transparency, accountability, and gender equality, with a target launch in November if church authorities consent.
- Monitoring found that many dioceses have begun implementing the 2020–2023 resolutions but full rollout remains patchy, with limited staffing and funding frequently cited.
- An implementation survey reported 13 bishops have introduced blessings for same-sex couples, while four bishops, including Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne and those of Eichstätt, Regensburg, and Passau, did not respond.
- Victims’ representative Johannes Norpoth said major gaps persist in abuse investigation, as frustration grows among delegates—especially women—while some bishops hesitate on reforms that still lack Roman authorization.