At a private audience with a group of German journalists on January 4, Pope Francis cautioned that “in order not to go astray,” the German bishops’ Synodal Path must be oriented toward the Gospel and the Holy Spirit rather than “the spirit of the times.” He added that the life of faith should not be understood as “something relative only to one’s own cultural an national sphere.”
The Pope spoke only briefly to the group, handing out a prepared text instead. In his oral remarks, he said; “Pray for me, please. This work is not easy. But pray for, not against.”