When Germany's Catholic bishops met last week to talk about abortion, the atmosphere was so tense that the normally mild-mannered Bishop of Essen, Dr Hubert Luthe, could contain himself no longer.
When his conservative counterpart from Fulda, Dr Johannes Dyba, repeated his opposition to church involvement in state-funded pregnancy advice centres, Dr Luthe leapt from his seat to remonstrate.
"Brother Johannes, that's enough!" he snapped. "We know your position. Ever since you've been here, there has been trouble in this conference."
The German bishops have good reason to feel tense, because they have set themselves on a collision course with the Vatican over abortion - an issue close to the heart of Pope John Paul II.
German women are allowed to have an abortion within the first three months of pregnancy on condition that they attend a counselling session at a pregnancy advice centre. Counsellors are not allowed to recommend one course of action over another and all women who receive counselling are given a certificate which allows them to have an abortion if they choose.
For Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Congregation of the Faith in Rome, this certificate is quite simply "a licence to kill". Two years ago, he persuaded the Pope to order the German bishops to refuse to issue these certificates at Catholic pregnancy advice centres.
The German government, led at that time by the Catholic Dr Helmut Kohl, warned that it would respond to such a move by cutting off funding for Catholic advice centres. Lay Catholics called on their bishops to defy the Pope's ruling on the grounds that abandoning the advice centres would forfeit Catholic influence on women with problem pregnancies. The bishops agreed to continue issuing the certificates pending a review of the entire system of church-sponsored pregnancy advice.
In the meantime, liberal bishops such as Dr Karl Lehmann of Mainz, the chairman of the Catholic Bishops' Conference, attempted to explain to the Vatican the dangers of opting out of pregnancy advice. Last month, Dr Lehmann spent 90 minutes with Cardinal Ratzinger outlining the damage that could be done to the relationship between church and state if the German bishops followed Rome's order.
At the end of the meeting, the Cardinal repeated his first question: "But why do you need this certificate?"
Before last week's meeting, the bishops received a letter from Cardinal Ratzinger reminding them that the order to leave state-funded pregnancy advice centres was "the binding statement of the Holy See".
But the bishops ignored the voice of the Vatican and voted overwhelmingly to continue offering pregnancy advice and to issue, along with the certificate required by the state, an invitation to a follow-up support programme.
Only four dioceses spoke out against the proposal, which bishops hope will encourage some women considering abortion to change their minds. "It's clear that we won't reach many women if we leave the state advice system," according to Dr Frank Kamphaus, Bishop of Lingen.
Dr Kamphaus's diocese has already set up a programme called "Conflict Advice Action", to accompany pregnancy advice with practical support for women who want to continue their pregnancy.
"If women in a situation of conflict can depend on the fact that they will be actively supported, the decision in favour of the child is easier," he said.
The final say rests with the Pope, who has shown little inclination to soften his stance on a practice that he regards as Catholics assisting women to procure abortions. But Cardinal Ratzinger is not the Pope's only adviser and other senior Vatican figures are more sympathetic to the German bishops' position.
Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Pope's equivalent of a foreign minister, is deeply concerned about the damage that could be done to the position of the church in Germany if the Vatican does not soften its position.
Church and state are officially separate in Germany but the reality is that they work closely together - usually to the advantage of the church. The state collects church tax from all citizens registered as Catholics, Protestants or Jews and the government directly funds numerous church activities, ranging from university theology faculties and church schools to church-sponsored social work.
The privileged position of the Church in Germany benefits the Vatican directly too. Because of the church tax, German dioceses are among the most generous contributors to the Pope's coffers.
Such factors may not be enough to change the Pope's mind but some German bishops are confident that they may persuade him that the relationship between church and state must involve a little give as well as take.
