Church volunteers who are members of the German Catholic women’s movement Maria 2.0 have launched a week-long strike. They are holding rites without priests outside churches and suspending voluntary church work and ministries in 50 parishes in protest over the male-only priesthood, celibacy and the church’s slow response to sex scandals. Masses and committees will Read more
Theologians in Germany were recently invited to speak to the nation’s Catholic hierarchy about the clergy abuse crisis and they used the rare opportunity to chastise the more than 60 bishops for being too slow in pushing for major Church reform. The theologians were given an entire “study day” to address the German Bishops’ Conference Read more
Catholic women from Münster in Germany are calling for women to go on strike. “We women want to see genuine change in our Church. We want to contribute and have our say. We want women and men, on equal footing, to follow their calling in harmony and move forward in the same direction: that of Read more
An upsurge in racism in Germany has prompted German bishops urge those who ‘see themselves as Christians’ to oppose it. “Seizing this opportunity to stir up anger and hate against foreigners or those who think differently from us, or using violence against them is too reprehensible,” Bishop Gerhard Feige said in a statement circulated on Read more
German immigration policies have seen left and right wing groups clashing in sometimes violent protests in several major cities. Thousands of people rallied on Sunday to demand the country help with missions to rescue migrants stranded at sea. The demonstrations, organised by a range of Catholic and Protestant civic groups, were part of a Europe-wide Read more
If you’re a Protestant married to a Catholic in Germany, you might be able to receive Communion along with your spouse in the Catholic Church. Then again, you may not be welcome to do so, or you could find yourself simply unsure. This confusing situation, created by a proposed change to the tradition that the Read more
German archbishop Hans-Josef Becker will let Protestant spouses of Catholics living in his diocese receive holy communion “in individual cases.” He presented his interpretation of the German bishops’ conference “pastoral guidance“at a meeting of the Council of Priests of the Archdiocese of Paderborn last week. He says he told his presbyteral council that the pastoral Read more
The German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, says the Catholic Church should allow Protestants to receive Communion. He offered his opinion at Katholikentag, a Muenster-based conference drawing tens of thousands of Catholics from German-speaking Europe. “Let us seek ways of expressing the common Christian faith by sharing in the Last Supper and Communion. I am sure thousands Read more
Intercommunion – enabling non-Catholics to receive the Eucharist – is to be discussed in Rome. Although several news sources say Francis has already rejected a draft plan to allow non-Catholics who are married to Catholics to receive Communion in certain circumstances, it seems this is not the case. German Bishops’ Conference president, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Read more
A Vatican ruling on giving Communion to Protestants is being sought. According to draft guidelines approved by the German Bishops’ Conference in February, Protestant spouses may receive Communion after making a “serious examination of conscience”. The Bishops’ Conference says they must also affirm “the faith of the Catholic Church”, and wish to end “serious spiritual Read more