Germany: Suspension of the head of “We Are Church”

Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, bishop of Ratisbonne in Bavaria, withdrew Paul Winckler’s canonical mission on April 8, 2005. The bishop of Ratisbonne had ordered Paul Winckler, head of “Wir Sind Kirche” (We Are Church), to abandon this movement, whose “actions harm the Church”.
Bishop Müller recalled that collaboration with this movement is incompatible with religious education by mandate of the Catholic Church. The bishop of Ratisbonne added that Paul Winckler “expressed himself on several occasions in a negative way regarding delicate subjects that touched on the doctrine of the Catholic Church” and “took responsibility for attacks on the person and function of the bishop”.
At the Vatican, the Congregation for the Clergy rejected Paul Winckler’s appeal of his suspension as religion professor. In a document signed on March 13, 2006, Cardinal Dario Castrillon-Hoyos confirmed the regularity of the procedure carried out by Bishop Müller. The Holy See declared that Paul Winckler had called Catholic doctrine into question by supporting the ordination of women to the priesthood and had twice refused the call to retract his position.