German Catholic Church Plans ‘More Inclusive’ Language About God In New Missal (Worthy News In-Depth)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

BERLIN (Worthy News) – Germany’s Roman Catholic Church is preparing changes to its official worship texts that would introduce more “gender-inclusive” language and reconsider “strongly masculine descriptions of God.”

The plans raise questions about how biblical teachings will be expressed in future Mass celebrations.

Priest Marius Linnenborn, director of the German Liturgical Institute in Trier, confirmed that the scheduled revision of the German-language Roman Catholic missal would take greater account of gender equality and contemporary linguistic sensitivities.

“In general, the language should be as inclusive as possible,” Linnenborn told the Catholic news website katholisch.de.

BIBLICAL LANGUAGE ABOUT GOD

“We will also handle strongly masculine images of God with care,” he added.

Linnenborn explained that references addressing only “brothers” would be expanded to include “sisters,” amid efforts to make the liturgy more “inclusive” of women.

However, his remarks about masculine images of God were expected to fuel broader theological debate concerning the Bible’s language about God the Father and Jesus Christ as His Son.

For nearly 2,000 years, Christians have addressed God as Father, following the example of Jesus, known in Hebrew as Yeshua, who taught His disciples to pray “Our Father.”

CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE AND TRADITION

The New Testament also identifies Jesus Christ as the Son of God, making these descriptions central to historic Christian doctrine rather than merely expressions of cultural tradition.

Linnenborn did not explicitly propose removing references to God as Father or Christ as Son, and no specific gender-neutral replacement for those titles has been announced by the Roman Catholic Church.

The proposed changes come as Germany’s Catholic Church, one of Europe’s largest religious institutions, faces declining membership while retaining significant influence through its churches, schools, charitable organizations and social services.

According to figures released by the German Bishops’ Conference, approximately 19.2 million people belonged to the Catholic Church at the end of 2025, representing about 23 percent of Germany’s population of 83.5 million.

GERMAN CATHOLIC MEMBERSHIP DECLINES

More than 307,000 people formally left the Church during 2025, continuing a long-term decline in religious affiliation driven in part by clergy sexual abuse scandals and growing secularism.

However, the Catholic Church still operates nearly 9,000 parishes across Germany and relies on approximately 600,000 volunteers, highlighting its continuing presence in communities despite falling membership.

Such changes could therefore affect worship across thousands of congregations, although the revised missal is also intended for German-speaking Catholics beyond Germany.

The German-language missal, which contains the prayers and instructions used by priests during Mass, has remained largely unchanged since 1975.

CHURCH SEEKS REVISED MISSAL

Church authorities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and several other German-speaking Catholic jurisdictions launched the latest revision in 2024 after two earlier attempts failed.

Linnenborn stressed that the project was intended as a moderate revision rather than a complete rewriting of the liturgy.

He acknowledged that existing prayers had shaped Catholic worship for generations and should not be discarded unnecessarily.

The initiative follows changes introduced by Pope Francis in 2017 that gave national bishops’ conferences greater responsibility for translating liturgical texts from Latin.

VATICAN APPROVAL REQUIRED

Linnenborn also suggested that German bishops might retain the wording “for all” rather than adopt the more literal “for many” in the Eucharistic prayers, another longstanding theological and translation debate.

However, he did not explain whether the prayer’s wording “for all” would mean allowing divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Communion, a separate, longstanding controversy within the Catholic Church.

Catholic teaching distinguishes between Christ’s sacrifice for all humanity and the conditions for receiving Communion. However, numerous Protestant Christians have challenged restrictions on participation, arguing that the Lord’s Supper should be open to all believers in Jesus Christ.

The updated liturgy is expected to include additional prayers, alternative Communion verses and texts more closely connected to Sunday Scripture readings.

FUTURE OF CATHOLIC WORSHIP

Church officials have invited detailed public feedback on existing liturgical texts through June 30, 2027, while selected congregations and religious communities will test newly translated prayers in 2027.

Introduction of the new missal is provisionally scheduled for 2033, subject to approval by the German-speaking bishops and confirmation from the Vatican.

Linnenborn expressed hope that the changes would help Catholics understand and participate more fully in worship.

However, the proposed approach to gender-inclusive language leaves an important question for the Catholic Church: How far can traditional descriptions of God be adapted to contemporary sensitivities without altering the biblical meaning that generations of Christians have faithfully followed?