Cardinal Mario Grech has said the Church is “synodal by nature” — “there is room for everyone” but immediately added that it remains hierarchical by nature. Asked about Germany’s still-pending Synodal Conference, His Eminence declined to comment and referred the matter to the Dicastery for Bishops. The 2028 ecclesial assembly, he added, is not a continuation of the 2021–24 Synod.