Pope Francis has written a letter applauding the German Church’s synodal journey and urging it to emphasise the centrality of the Holy Spirit in ecclesial renewal. The Church needs spiritual renewal, not just structural, he wrote as the Germany’s Catholics prepare to embark on a synodal process. “We are all aware that we are living Read more
Ordinations in Germany have dropped by 50 per cent in the last decade. The decrease reflects a continuous downward trend, with only 122 diocesan priests ordained in 2005; five decades ago, in 1965, the number was 500. While there were almost 20,000 Catholic priests in Germany in 1990, today their number has already dropped to Read more
German Catholics who refuse to pay religious tax will not receive the sacraments or become a godparent. The German bishops’ conference last week issued a decree, saying it was “worried” about the Catholic Church’s dwindling numbers and wanted to stem the drop. Those who will refuse to pay the tax will not ba able to Read more