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After months of controversy, the leaders of Germany's Roman Catholic Church have agreed to a demand by Pope John Paul II that they end church participation in a system of compulsory counseling for women considering abortion.

"We have tried as long as possible to resist, but now we have lost," Bishop Karl Lehmann of Mainz, chairman of the German Bishops' Conference (DBK), said at a press conference last week. Bishop Lehmann's announcement is significant since he had previously refused to rule out the possibility of remaining within the current system. But despite Bishop Lehmann's announcement, a number of Catholic bishops have already announced that for the time being they are unable to follow the wishes of the Pope in withdrawing from the system.

Although abortion is technically illegal in Germany, women can obtain one if they get a certificate from an officially recognized counseling center stating that they have talked over the matter. Of Germany's 1685 counseling centers, 254 are sponsored by the Protestant church and 264 by two Catholic organizations.

Church organizations have traditionally played a major role in Germany in providing social services on behalf of the state.

Official church participation in the counseling system has deeply split Germany's Catholic community. Catholics critical of their church's participation in the system argue that by issuing certificates that will allow women, if they wish, to have an abortion, the church is an accessory to the killing of unborn life.

But Catholic supporters say that it is better for women considering abortions to attend centers run by the Catholic Church and that the church should not turn its back on women who find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy. They add that after counseling many women decide not to request a certificate, and that not all women who request certificates decide to go through with an abortion.

In recent months Rome has exerted increasing pressure on the German bishops to stop Catholic counseling centers from issuing certificates, which would mean that the church would no longer be part of the official system.

Last month, after German bishops visited the Vatican, Pope John Paul again wrote to them making clear his expectation that the Catholic Church would withdraw from the system. The letter called for all German dioceses to act on the Vatican's wishes as soon as possible.

The issue has also divided the country's 27 Catholic bishops. While Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Cologne and Bishop Franz Dyba of Fulda have led a minority of bishops opposing the counseling system, Bishop Lehmann and at least 12 others have tried to find a compromise respecting the Pope's wishes but allowing the church to remain within the system.

Despite the efforts of Bishop Lehmann, however, the church remains divided. The standing council of the DBK agreed last month that Catholic counseling centers should stop issuing certificates in the course of 2000. Such a step would have the effect of ending Catholic participation in the current state-sponsored system.

The dioceses of Paderborn, Munster and Speyer have already announced that they will withdraw from the system in January 2000. However, Bishop Hermann Josef Spital of Trier, Bishop Franz Kamphaus of Limburg and five others have said that they reserve the right to remain in the present system "if no convincing alternative can be found."

Bishop Lehmann has warned them that they must follow the wishes of the Pope. At the same time, Bishop Lehmann has been exploring ways in which the church could remain part of the counseling system but would not be obliged to issue certificates. He suggested this week that the law could be changed to allow women simply to declare on oath that they had attended counseling. But so far the state has rejected the idea of changing the law.

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December 6 1999, Vol. 43, No. 14