Farewell to Father Langendrfer was long. At the turn of the year the Jesuit had handed over his duties to two provisional successors. 25 years in office cast a long shadow. Now he has finally found a successor. Beate Gilles got his office, but not his title. The secretary has become a general secretary in order to adapt to international, universal church practices. Church law also uses the term.
There is no ordination required to lead an office
With Beate Gilles, it is not just the first woman who has taken on this task. For the first time in Germany, a layperson presides over the secretariat of the Bishops’ Conference and runs the business of the Association of Dizeses of Germany. This is the right decision because there is no ordination required to lead an office. But it must not be an obstacle either. It is intended as a sign to put a woman in this position. The bishops have promised to promote women to leadership positions. As a result, Beate Gilles now lives with the mortgage of having to prove that “being a woman” is not her only qualification for the office.
The starting position is good. The new general secretary comes from an ecclesiastical background. Starting with studying theology in Bonn, completing a doctorate in liturgical science, through the first professional steps in church adult education to becoming head of department for children, youth and family in the Diocese of Limburg. In the context of this activity, however, she was less noticeable for her work for women and families than for leading a working group for the development of a blessing for homosexual partnerships. The theologian also has experience in media issues, as she sits on the broadcasting council of the Hessischer Rundfunk. She heads the IN VIA association on a voluntary basis.
The office is no walk in the park
The office of general secretary is no walk in the park, even with a good education and strong roots in the church. The DBK is heterogeneous. Each bishop is solely responsible in his or her appointment. The task of the secretary is to maintain communication among 27 dizesan fish. These bishops have 27 geographically, demographically, sociologically and pastorally different dioceses to lead and have their own priorities and church-political orientations. That requires a maximum of diplomatic skill. After all, it has to ensure that the authorities in Bonn run quietly.
It is a little upsetting when the new general secretary positions herself so clearly in terms of church politics at her first press conference that she locates Mary 2.0 as in the middle of the church and makes her own concerns her own. The new Secretary General would like to use the Synodal Way to “quickly get to know the differentiated Catholic landscape”. For this, however, this landscape would have to be represented on synodal paths. It would be the job of the Secretary General to moderate and convey where there are conflicting interests. Such a one-sided clear positioning at their first press conference thwarted the concern. It’s nothing short of a missed opportunity. This beginning does not bode well, as many committed men and women in the Church will probably find neither a contact person nor a mediator with this General Secretary.
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