(LifeSiteNews) — The head of the German bishops’ conference and the heretical “Synodal Way” praised Pope Francis, calling him a “great gift to the Church by God.”

In his press statement regarding the Pope’s death, Bishop Georg Bätzing said that Francis “wanted to open [new] paths.”

“That was his way of living and leading the pontificate. I think that was the right style.”

“That is why my deepest feeling is that Pope Francis is a great gift for the Catholic Church that the Lord of the Church has given us,” Bätzing stated.

The German bishop praised Francis’ pontificate, saying that he “opened doors” to new ways for the Church, even though he knew he could not bring his ideas to full fruition. Bätzing implied that Francis questioned Church doctrines while changing pastoral practice.

He said that the processes that Francis started “can no longer be reversed” because they have “taken root in our Church” like “a new culture.”

Bätzing noted that the deceased pope did not want “a shining, radiant church as it had been in the past” but rather a “bruised church… because she kneels down, because she is humble with those who need it.”

Again, the German bishop implied a break with Church Tradition under Francis’ pontificate, which Bätzing clearly saw as a positive development.

He praised Francis for denouncing “clericalism” and for wanting “to install participation in this church as a common practice, because all those who share the faith, because all those who are united in baptism should also participate in the path of the church and its decisions.”

The head of the German Synodal Way commended the Pope for his synods, especially the Family Synod, from which resulted the document Amoris Laetitia, which endorsed allowing divorced and “remarried” couples living in adultery to receive Holy Communion, a practice clearly against the perennial teaching of the Catholic Church.

“And finally, in the years 2021 to 2024, the Synod on Synodality,” Bätzing recalled. “How do we develop a style of co-responsibility and co-decision in the Catholic Church in which everyone is involved, because what concerns everyone should also be decided by everyone.”

“He opened wide doors, and I am sure that his legacy will continue to occupy us for many years to come,” Bätzing proclaimed.

The German bishop also praised Francis’ views on immigration and interreligious issues, claiming that the pope pushed back against “fundamentalist, selfish” tendencies when dealing with other religions.

Bätzing, known for his heretical views and support for leftist policies, was the leader of the heretical Synodal Way, which openly seeks to change perennial Church teaching on matters like homosexuality, gender, and women’s “ordination.” A document approved by participants of the Synodal Way claims that sodomy is “not a sin” and “not to be judged as intrinsically evil.” Another document declared that “transsexual” persons should be admitted to the priesthood. Bishop Bätzing has said that Catholic teaching on homosexuality “must be changed” and was responsible for a working document of the Synodal Path that endorsed masturbation and contraception.

In January 2023, Bätzing’s diocese of Limburg published new guidelines that effectively forced priests to accept homosexuality and transgenderism as natural iterations of so-called “sexual identity and orientation.”