The first meeting of the Synodal Conference of the Church in Germany, scheduled for November 6 and 7, 2026 in Stuttgart, has been canceled while its statutes remain pending approval from the Holy See. The German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) has confirmed to DOMRADIO.DE that the meeting will not take place on the planned date and that the hotel rooms reserved for participants have already been canceled.
The cancellation confirms the doubts that the president of the German Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Heiner Wilmer, had expressed in May regarding the possibility of beginning in November. The future Synodal Conference is conceived to provide institutional continuity to the German Synodal Way through a stable body in which bishops and laity participate jointly.
Read also: Rome’s pace slows the spirits of the German Synodal Way
Five months waiting for Rome
The statutes of the new body were approved by the German Bishops’ Conference in February, after having previously received the support of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK). On March 31, Wilmer personally delivered the text in Rome to request the recognitio of the Holy See.
Since then, no decision has been communicated. The launch of the Synodal Conference was expressly conditioned on Roman approval.
The calendar drawn up by its promoters contemplated a first meeting on November 6 and 7 in Stuttgart and another in 2027 in Würzburg. The former president of the DBK, Bishop Georg Bätzing, had indicated at the beginning of the year that he trusted in receiving authorization in time and acknowledged that starting the new body without Rome’s consent would constitute a «provocation» that they wanted to avoid.
Read also: Bishop Wilmer personally delivers the statutes of the controversial German Synodal Way in Rome
Wilmer acknowledges that Rome needs «some time»
Wilmer had already anticipated during the Katholikentag held in May in Würzburg, Bavaria, that he did not expect the Synodal Conference to be able to meet in November.
The president of the German episcopate again addressed the issue last week in an interview with Kirche+Leben. «I know from those responsible [in Rome] that they still need some time. I trust that we will move forward,» he stated, without specifying when a response might occur.
The delegates have not yet been informed
The cancellation also would not have been officially communicated to the delegates elected to form part of the future Synodal Conference. According to participants consulted by the German media outlet, so far they have received neither a summons for November nor a formal notification of the meeting’s suspension.
The Synodal Conference constitutes the final step of the process initiated with the German Synodal Way. Its configuration has been the subject of conversations between the German bishops and the Holy See, especially regarding the competencies of the new body and its relationship with the bishops’ own authority.
Read also: German bishops approve the statutes of the «Synodal Conference» despite warnings from Rome
For the moment, no new date has been announced for the first meeting. The statutes remain in Rome awaiting the recognitio of the Holy See.