Arne Dedert
Auxiliary Bishop Udo Bentz of Mainz walks down the stairs to the tomb of St. Boniface at the beginning of the opening service of the Fall Plenary Assembly of the German Bishops’ Conference on 25 Sept. 25, 2018. On Dec. 9, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Udo Bentz to head the Archdiocese of Paderborn and Bishop Herwig Gössl to be the next ordinary of the Archdiocese of Bamberg.
ANALYSIS: Pope Francis’ selection of two new archbishops for Germany indicates how Rome is approaching the problematic Synodal Way, but also underscores what needs to be added if deterring German bishops from going further down the divisive path is going to work.