The Catholic Cathedral of Limburg in Hesse, Germany./ Mylius via Wikimedia (GFDL 1.2).
The Catholic Cathedral of Limburg in Hesse, Germany. / Credit: Mylius via Wikimedia (GFDL 1.2)
CNA Newsroom, Jul 1, 2024 / 09:45 am (CNA).
Just one day after the news that hundreds of thousands of Catholics left the Church in Germany in 2023, the Vatican met with representatives of the German Synodal Way to discuss the controversial plans for a permanent synodal council.
The meeting on Friday resulted in Rome demanding the Germans change the name of the body and agree it cannot have authority over — or be equal to — the bishops’ conference, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.
The gathering came at a critical time: According to the official statistics released by the German Bishops’ Conference on Thursday, more than 400,000 people officially left the Church in 2023.
While this represents a decrease from the 522,000 departures in 2022, the trend remains alarming for Church leaders and Catholics alike.
Currently, there are 20,345,872 Catholics registered in Germany. If trends persist, the number could drop below 20 million in 2024.
Moreover, only 6.2% of Catholics regularly attend Mass: This translates to approximately 1.27 million practicing Catholics in a country of over 80 million, CNA Deutsch noted.
The new official numbers also reveal significant disparities in Mass attendance across Germany.
The Diocese of Görlitz, bordering Poland, leads with a 13.9% attendance rate despite being the smallest diocese with fewer than 30,000 Catholics. In contrast, the Diocese of Aachen, on the Rhine in Western Germany, reports only 4.2% of Catholics practicing their faith regularly.
A 20-year comparison, released by the bishops’ conference, paints a bleak picture of the Church’s decline: Since 2003, the number of Catholics has decreased by almost 6 million, while Sunday Mass attendance has plummeted from 15.2% to 6.2%.
The number of active priests has also declined, with 7,593 in pastoral ministry in 2023, down from 7,720 in the previous year. Priestly ordinations have dropped significantly, from 45 in 2022 to 28 in 2023.
A 2021 report by CNA Deutsch noted that 1 in 3 Catholics in Germany were considering leaving the Church. The reasons for leaving vary, with older people citing the Church’s handling of the abuse crisis and younger people pointing to the obligation of paying church tax, according to one earlier study.
The German Bishops’ Conference currently stipulates that leaving the Church results in automatic excommunication, a regulation that has sparked controversy among theologians and canon lawyers.
Scientists at the University of Freiburg predicted in 2019 that the number of Christians paying church tax in Germany will halve by 2060.
‘A concrete form of synodality’
Warning of a threat of a new schism from Germany, the Vatican intervened as early as July 2022 against plans for a German synodal council.
Against the backdrop of ongoing dramatic decline and internal division, the Vatican engaged in yet another round of discussions with representatives of the German Synodal Way last Friday.
As CNA Deutsch reported, the meeting on June 28 involved high-ranking Vatican officials and representatives from the German Bishops’ Conference.
On the Vatican side, secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin and four prefects attended: Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandéz, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity; Cardinal Robert Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops; and Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
The cardinals were joined by Archbishop Filippo Iannone, prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts.
On the German side, bishops Georg Bätzing, Stephan Ackermann, Bertram Meier, and Franz-Josef Overbeck represented the Synodal Way. They were joined by the bishops’ conference general secretary Beate Gilles and communications director Matthias Kopp.
The talks centered on the proposed synodal council, which initially was intended to oversee the Church in Germany permanently but was rejected by the Vatican.
According to a joint press release, both sides want to “change the name and various aspects of the previous draft” for the controversial body. Both sides also agreed that the synodal council would not be “above or equal to the bishops’ conference.”
The meeting had a “positive, open, and constructive atmosphere,” the statement said, adding discussions focused on balancing episcopal ministry with the co-responsibility of all faithful, emphasizing canonical aspects of establishing a “concrete form of synodality.”
‘Who has actually read this letter?’
The ongoing dialogue may mark a significant step in the negotiations between the Vatican and the organizers of the German Synodal Way, following previous repeated interventions by Pope Francis and the Vatican.
Both parties have agreed to continue talks after the conclusion of the world Synod on Synodality in October, with plans to address further anthropological, ecclesiological, and liturgical topics.
This is a significant development: Amid the ongoing exodus of the faithful, the news that the German process will not simply dovetail with the Synod on Synodality in Rome raises the question of the overall purpose of what has proven to be an expensive German exercise.
In a video message released Saturday, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne urged German Catholics to take the Vatican’s concerns seriously. The archbishop reminded the faithful that Pope Francis said “everything he had to say” in a historic letter to German Catholics five years ago.
Pope Francis warned of disunity in the 5,700-word letter. He also cautioned German Catholics to avoid the “sin of secularization and a secular mindset against the Gospel.”
Woelki pulled no punches in his video. “Let’s be honest: Who has actually read this letter?” the German prelate asked pointedly.
Noting the pope had called on German Catholics to evangelize, Woelki said: “We should fulfill his so urgently expressed wish — for our own sake, but also the sake of the Church in Germany, because only then will she have a future [here].”
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Pope Francis at the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Oct. 5, 2016. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA
CNA Staff, Mar 13, 2024 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
March 13 marks the anniversary of the election of Pope Francis as the 266th successor of St. Peter. Here is a timeline of key events during his papacy:
2013
March 13 — About two weeks after Pope Benedict XVI steps down from the papacy, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio is elected pope. He takes the papal name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi and proclaims from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica: “Let us begin this journey, the bishop and people, this journey of the Church of Rome, which presides in charity over all the Churches, a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another.”
March 14 — The day after he begins his pontificate, Pope Francis returns to his hotel to personally pay his hotel bill and collect his luggage.
July 8 — Pope Francis visits Italy’s island of Lampedusa and meets with a group of 50 migrants, most of whom are young men from Somalia and Eritrea. The island, which is about 200 miles off the coast of Tunisia, is a common entry point for migrants who flee parts of Africa and the Middle East to enter Europe. This is the pope’s first pastoral visit outside of Rome and sets the stage for making reaching out to the peripheries a significant focus.
Pope Francis gives the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 2, 2013. Elise Harris/CNA.
July 23-28 — Pope Francis visits Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to participate in World Youth Day 2013. More than 3 million people from around the world attend the event.
July 29 — On the return flight from Brazil, Pope Francis gives his first papal news conference and sparks controversy by saying “if a person is gay and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge?” The phrase is prompted by a reporter asking the pope a question about priests who have homosexual attraction.
Nov. 24 — Pope Francis publishes his first apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel). The document illustrates the pope’s vision for how to approach evangelization in the modern world.
2014
Feb. 22 — Pope Francis holds his first papal consistory to appoint 19 new cardinals, including ones from countries in the developing world that have never previously been represented in the College of Cardinals, such as Haiti.
March 22 — Pope Francis creates the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. The commission works to protect the dignity of minors and vulnerable adults, such as the victims of sexual abuse.
Pope Francis greets pilgrims during his general audience on Nov. 29, 2014. Bohumil Petrik/CNA.
Oct. 5 — The Synod on the Family begins. The bishops discuss a variety of concerns, including single-parent homes, cohabitation, homosexual adoption of children, and interreligious marriages.
Dec. 6 — After facing some pushback for his efforts to reform the Roman Curia, Pope Francis discusses his opinion in an interview with La Nacion, an Argentine news outlet: “Resistance is now evident. And that is a good sign for me, getting the resistance out into the open, no stealthy mumbling when there is disagreement. It’s healthy to get things out into the open, it’s very healthy.”
2015
Jan. 18 — To conclude a trip to Asia, Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Manila, Philippines. Approximately 6 million to 7 million people attend the record-setting Mass, despite heavy rain.
March 23 — Pope Francis visits Naples, Italy, to show the Church’s commitment to helping the fight against corruption and organized crime in the city.
May 24 — To emphasize the Church’s mission to combat global warming and care for the environment, Pope Francis publishes the encyclical Laudato Si’, which urges people to take care of the environment and encourages political action to address climate problems.
Pope Francis at a Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 17, 2015. Bohumil Petrik.
Sept. 19-22 — Pope Francis visits Cuba and meets with Fidel Castro in the first papal visit to the country since Pope John Paul II in 1998. During his homily, Francis discusses the dignity of the human person: “Being a Christian entails promoting the dignity of our brothers and sisters, fighting for it, living for it.”
Sept. 22-27 — After departing from Cuba, Pope Francis makes his first papal visit to the United States. In Washington, D.C., he speaks to a joint session of Congress, in which he urges lawmakers to work toward promoting the common good, and canonizes the Franciscan missionary St. Junípero Serra. He also attends the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, which focuses on celebrating the gift of the family.
Pope Francis speaks to the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 24, 2015. . L’Osservatore Romano.
Oct. 4 — Pope Francis begins the second Synod on the Family to address issues within the modern family, such as single-parent homes, cohabitation, poverty, and abuse.
Oct. 18 — The pope canonizes St. Louis Martin and St. Marie-Azélie “Zelie” Guérin. The married couple were parents to five nuns, including St. Therese of Lisieux. They are the first married couple to be canonized together.
Dec. 8 — Pope Francis’ Jubilee Year of Mercy begins. The year focuses on God’s mercy and forgiveness and people’s redemption from sin. The pope delegates certain priests in each diocese to be Missionaries of Mercy who have the authority to forgive sins that are usually reserved for the Holy See.
2016
March 19 — Pope Francis publishes the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, which discusses a wide variety of issues facing the modern family based on discussions from the two synods on the family. The pope garners significant controversy from within the Church for comments he makes in Chapter 8 about Communion for the divorced and remarried.
April 16 — After visiting refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos, Pope Francis allows three Muslim refugee families to join him on his flight back to Rome. He says the move was not a political statement.
Pope Francis at the General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, Feb. 24, 2016. Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
July 26-31 — Pope Francis visits Krakow, Poland, as part of the World Youth Day festivities. About 3 million young Catholic pilgrims from around the world attend.
Sept. 4 — The pope canonizes St. Teresa of Calcutta, who is also known as Mother Teresa. The saint, a nun from Albania, dedicated her life to missionary and charity work, primarily in India.
Sept. 30-Oct. 2 — Pope Francis visits Georgia and Azerbaijan on his 16th trip outside of Rome since the start of his papacy. His trip focuses on Catholic relations with Orthodox Christians and Muslims.
Oct. 4 — Pope Francis makes a surprise visit to Amatrice, Italy, to pray for the victims of an earthquake in central Italy that killed nearly 300 people.
2017
May 12-13 — In another papal trip, Francis travels to Fatima, Portugal, to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. May 13 marks the 100th anniversary of the first Marian apparition to three children in the city.
July 11 — Pope Francis adds another category of Christian life suitable for the consideration of sainthood: “offering of life.” The category is distinct from martyrdom, which only applies to someone who is killed for his or her faith. The new category applies to those who died prematurely through an offering of their life to God and neighbor.
Pope Francis greets a participant in the World Day of the Poor in Rome, Nov. 16, 2017. L’Osservatore Romano.
Nov. 19 — On the first-ever World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis eats lunch with 4,000 poor and people in need in Rome.
Nov. 27-Dec. 2 — In another trip to Asia, Pope Francis travels to Myanmar and Bangladesh. He visits landmarks and meets with government officials, Catholic clergy, and Buddhist monks. He also preaches the Gospel and promotes peace in the region.
2018
Jan. 15-21 — The pope takes another trip to Latin America, this time visiting Chile and Peru. The pontiff meets with government officials and members of the clergy while urging the faithful to remain close to the clergy and reject secularism. The Chilean visit leads to controversy over Chilean clergy sex abuse scandals.
Aug. 2 — The Vatican formally revises No. 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which concerns the death penalty. The previous text suggested the death penalty could be permissible in certain circumstances, but the revision states that the death penalty is “inadmissible.”
Aug. 25 — Archbishop Carlo Viganò, former papal nuncio to the United States, publishes an 11-page letter calling for the resignation of Pope Francis and accusing him and other Vatican officials of covering up sexual abuse including allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. The pope initially does not directly respond to the letter, but nine months after its publication he denies having prior knowledge about McCarrick’s conduct.
Aug. 25-26 — Pope Francis visits Dublin, Ireland, to attend the World Meeting of Families. The theme is “the Gospel of family, joy for the world.”
Pope Francis at the 2018 World Meeting of Families in Ireland. Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
Oct. 3-28 — The Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment takes place. The synod focuses on best practices to teach the faith to young people and to help them discern God’s will.
2019
Jan. 22-27 — The third World Youth Day during Pope Francis’ pontificate takes place during these six days in Panama City, Panama. Young Catholics from around the world gather for the event, with approximately 3 million people in attendance.
Feb. 4 — Pope Francis signs a joint document in with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, titled the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.” The document focuses on people of different faiths uniting together to live peacefully and advance a culture of mutual respect.
Pope Francis and Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar, signed a joint declaration on human fraternity during an interreligious meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Feb. 4, 2019. Vatican Media.
Feb. 21-24 — The Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church, which is labeled the Vatican Sexual Abuse Summit, takes place. The meeting focuses on sexual abuse scandals in the Church and emphasizes responsibility, accountability, and transparency.
Oct. 6-27 — The Church holds the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, which is also known as the Amazon Synod. The synod is meant to present ways in which the Church can better evangelize the Amazon region but leads to controversy when carved images of a pregnant Amazonian woman, referred to by the pope as Pachamama, are used in several events and displayed in a basilica near the Vatican.
Oct. 13 — St. John Henry Newman, an Anglican convert to Catholicism and a cardinal, is canonized by Pope Francis. Newman’s writings inspired Catholic student associations at nonreligious colleges and universities in the United States and other countries.
2020
March 15 — Pope Francis takes a walking pilgrimage in Rome to the chapel of the crucifix and prays for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. The crucifix was carried through Rome during the plague of 1522.
March 27 — Pope Francis gives an extraordinary “urbi et orbi” blessing in an empty and rain-covered St. Peter’s Square, praying for the world during the coronavirus pandemic.
Pope Francis venerates the miraculous crucifix of San Marcello al Corso in St. Peter’s Square during his Urbi et Orbi blessing, March 27, 2020. Vatican Media.
2021
March 5-8 — In his first papal trip since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis becomes the first pope to visit Iraq. On his trip, he signs a joint statement with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani condemning extremism and promoting peace.
July 3 — Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Francis, is indicted in a Vatican court for embezzlement, money laundering, and other crimes. The pope gives approval for the indictment.
July 4 — Pope Francis undergoes colon surgery for diverticulitis, a common condition in older people. The Vatican releases a statement that assures the pope “reacted well” to the surgery. Francis is released from the hospital after 10 days.
July 16 — Pope Francis issues a motu proprio titled Traditionis Custodes. The document imposes heavy restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass.
Dec. 2-6 — The pope travels to Cyprus and Greece. The trip includes another visit to the Greek island of Lesbos to meet with migrants.
Pope Francis greets His Beatitude Ieronymos II in Athens, Greece on Dec. 5, 2021. Vatican Media
2022
Jan. 11 — Pope Francis makes a surprise visit to a record store in Rome called StereoSound. The pope, who has an affinity for classical music, blesses the newly renovated store.
March 19 — The pope promulgates Praedicate Evangelium, which reforms the Roman Curia. The reforms emphasize evangelization and establish more opportunities for the laity to be in leadership positions.
May 5 — Pope Francis is seen in a wheelchair for the first time in public and begins to use one more frequently. The pope has been suffering from knee problems for months.
Pope Francis greeted the crowd in a wheelchair at the end of his general audience on Aug. 3, 2022. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
July 24-30 — In his first papal visit to Canada, Pope Francis apologizes for the harsh treatment of the indigenous Canadians, saying many Christians and members of the Catholic Church were complicit.
2023
Jan. 31-Feb. 5 — Pope Francis travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. During his visit, the pope condemns political violence in the countries and promotes peace. He also participates in an ecumenical prayer service with Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Moderator of the Church of Scotland Iain Greenshields.
Pope Francis greets a young boy a Mass in Juba, South Sudan on Feb. 5, 2023. Vatican Media
March 29-April 1 — Pope Francis is hospitalized for a respiratory infection. During his stay at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, he visits the pediatric cancer ward and baptizes a newborn baby.
April 5 — The pope appears in the Disney documentary “The Pope: Answers,” which is in Spanish, answering six “hot-button” issues from members of Gen Z from various backgrounds. The group discusses immigration, depression, abortion, clergy sexual and psychological abuse, transgenderism, pornography, and loss of faith.
April 28-30 — Pope Francis visits Hungary to meet with government officials, civil society members, bishops, priests, seminarians, Jesuits, consecrated men and women, and pastoral workers. He celebrates Mass on the final day of the trip in Kossuth Lajos Square.
Pope Francis stands on an altar erected outside the Parliament Building in Budapest’s Kossuth Lajos’ Square during a public outdoor Mass on April 30, 2023. Vatican Media
June 7 — The Vatican announces that Pope Francis will undergo abdominal surgery that afternoon under general anesthesia due to a hernia that is causing painful, recurring, and worsening symptoms. In his general audience that morning before the surgery, Francis says he intends to publish an apostolic letter on St. Thérèse of Lisieux, “patroness of the missions,” to mark the 150th anniversary of her birth.
June 15 — After successful surgery and a week of recovery, Pope Francis is released from Gemelli Hospital.
Aug. 2-6 — Pope Francis travels to Lisbon, Portugal, for World Youth Day 2023, taking place from Aug. 1-6. He meets with Church and civil leaders ahead of presiding at the welcoming Mass and Stations of the Cross. He also hears the confessions of several pilgrims. On Aug. 5, he visits the Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima, where he prays the rosary with young people with disabilities. That evening he presides over the vigil and on Sunday, Aug. 6, he celebrates the closing Mass, where he urges the 1.5 million young people present to “be not afraid,” echoing the words of the founder of World Youth Days, St. John Paul II.
Pope Francis waves at the crowd of 1.5 million people who attended the closing Mass of World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal on Aug. 6, 2023. Vatican Media.
Aug. 31-Sept. 4 — Pope Francis travels to Mongolia, the world’s most sparsely populated sovereign country. The trip makes Francis the first pope to visit the Asian country that shares a 2,880-mile border with China, its most significant economic partner. Mongolia has a population of about 1,300 Catholics in a country of more than 3 million people.
Pope Francis meets with local priests and religious of Mongolia, which includes only 25 priests (19 religious and six diocesan), 33 women religious, and one bishop — Cardinal Giorgio Marengo — in Ulaanbaatar’s Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul on Sept. 2, 2023. Credit: Vatican Media
Sept. 22-23 — On a two-day trip to Marseille, France, Pope Francis meets with local civil and religious leaders and participates in the Mediterranean Encounter, a gathering of some 120 young people of various creeds with bishops from 30 countries.
Pope Francis asks for a moment of silence at a memorial dedicated to sailors and migrants lost at sea on the first of a two-day visit to Marseille, France, Sept. 22, 2023. A Camargue cross, which comes from the Camargue area of France, represents the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. The three tridents represent faith, the anchor represents hope, and the heart represents charity. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Oct. 4-29 — The Vatican hosts the first of two monthlong global assemblies of the Synod on Synodality, initiated by Pope Francis in 2021 to enhance the communion, participation, and mission of the Church. Pope Francis celebrates the closing Mass of the synod at St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29. The second and final global assembly will take place at the Vatican in October 2024.
Pope Francis at the Synod on Synodality’s closing Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29, 2023. Vatican Media
Nov. 25 — Pope Francis visits the hospital briefly for precautionary testing after coming down with the flu earlier in the day. Although he still participates in scheduled activities, other officials read his prepared remarks. The Vatican on Nov. 28 cancels the pope’s planned Dec. 1–3 trip to Dubai for the COP28 climate conference, where he was scheduled to deliver a speech, due to his illness.
Dec. 18 — The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issues the declaration Fiducia Supplicans, which authorizes nonliturgical blessings for same-sex couples and couples in “irregular situations.” Various bishops from around the world voice both support for and criticism of the document.
2024
Jan. 4 — Amid widespread backlash to Fiducia Supplicans, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, publishes a five-page press release that refers to Fiducia Supplicans as “perennial doctrine” and underlines that pastoral blessings of couples in irregular situations should not be “an endorsement of the life led by those who request them.”
Jan. 14 — Pope Francis for the first time responds publicly to questions about Fiducia Supplicans in an interview on an Italian television show. The pope underlines that “the Lord blesses everyone” and that a blessing is an invitation to enter into a conversation “to see what the road is that the Lord proposes to them.”
Feb. 11 — In a ceremony attended by Argentine president Javier Milei, Pope Francis canonizes María Antonia of St. Joseph — known affectionately in the pope’s home country as “Mama Antula” — in a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. The president and the former archbishop of Buenos Aires embrace after the ceremony. Pope Francis, who has not returned to his homeland since becoming pope in 2013, has said he wants to visit Argentina in the second half of this year.
Pope Francis meets with Argentina President Javier Milei in a private audience on Feb. 12, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media
Feb. 28 — After canceling audiences the previous Saturday and having an aide read his prepared remarks at his Wednesday audience due to a “mild flu,” Pope Francis visits the hospital for diagnostic tests but returns to the Vatican afterward.
March 2 — Despite having an aide read his speech “because of bronchitis,” the pope presides over the inauguration of the 95th Judicial Year of the Vatican City State and maintains a full schedule.
March 13 — Pope Francis celebrates 11 years as Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.
We read: “According to a joint press release, both sides want to ‘change the name and various aspects of the previous draft’ for the controversial body.”
Probably just a translation error: the diluted and deluded fluidity of the “German Synodal Whey”!
“Currently, there are 20,345,872 Catholics registered in Germany.”
I highly doubt that this figure means anything in terms of the ecclesial experience in Germany.
As I have mentioned before, the number of Germans who actually practice the Catholic faith is abysmally low. It makes sense, then, that the number of German bishops and
cardinals should be drastically adjusted to reflect Church reality there.
The German Bishops’ Conference currently stipulates that leaving the Church results in automatic excommunication, a regulation that has sparked controversy among theologians and canon lawyers.
The reason the germans are changing their religious status with the government is to avoid paying the automatic church tax. So can someone tell me does this mean a person is automatically excommunicated?
Catholics always claim that you can’t live without God, yet we have an existence proof to the contrary of millions of people doing just that – living perfectly well without any gods.
Spending your free time and energy writing bitter and bigoted posts on a religious website doesn’t exactly fit the definition of “living well” now, does it?
They weren’t living perfectly well during the eras of the atheistic despots of Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and Schickelgruber.
As a matter of fact they weren’t living at all.
And lest we forget the zeitgeist’s human sacrifices.
What you prove is not only the invincible stupidity of forming unprovable presumptions about minds you cannot know, but the impossibility of religion hatred without conceit disguising desperation.
All they are doing is what one of your readers claimed to be doing several days ago. “After reading about the Church defending Rupnik I decided I will donate zero to the Church untill [sic] they apologize and throw Rupnik’s work in the trashcan.” Oh, and this reader was defended by several others, or at least I was attacked for pointing out that leaving the Church, or failing to support AT LEAST ONE’S OWN PARISH (which is how most people donate to the Church) is not the right thing for a Catholic to do.
This doesn’t mean, as one joker suggested, that Francis is my “hero”. He’s my Pope, though. He’s almost certainly the worst Pope in 500 years, and he’s as worldly as a Renaissance Pope (without, apparently, the mistresses and illegitimate children), but yes, he is the Pope. Not me. Not you. Not the editors of this mag. Deal with it. Or admit you are Protestant.
Maybe it has something to do with the big-tent ecclesiology of “everybody, everybody”…. when contradicted by the German automatic excommunication for everybody (!) declining to sign the annual state income tax form as Catholic (branded as “apostates!”)–so as to pay the 8% tax add-on to automatically support apostate bishops marketing der Synodal Weg?
The problem with German Catholics is lack of knowledge about the Catholic Church. They have made it a temporal organization which should be run be synods. Church is not a democratic organization. They are just like Martin Luther who thought that Faith alone is enough for salvation. Germans need prayers – they are mixing up religion with material matters. It is only Jesus, the founder of the Catholic Church that can intervene through prayer. I see even Vatican is putting emphasis on administration rather than spiritual matters. I have realized that even Bishops, Cardinals luck important knowledge about Catholicism, the Church Christ instituted; the gates of hell should not reveal against it. The moment you see leaders tampering with the faith, you go on your needs and Jesus will intervene. Let the whole Church be on its needs.
We read: “According to a joint press release, both sides want to ‘change the name and various aspects of the previous draft’ for the controversial body.”
Probably just a translation error: the diluted and deluded fluidity of the “German Synodal Whey”!
“Currently, there are 20,345,872 Catholics registered in Germany.”
I highly doubt that this figure means anything in terms of the ecclesial experience in Germany.
As I have mentioned before, the number of Germans who actually practice the Catholic faith is abysmally low. It makes sense, then, that the number of German bishops and
cardinals should be drastically adjusted to reflect Church reality there.
The German Bishops’ Conference currently stipulates that leaving the Church results in automatic excommunication, a regulation that has sparked controversy among theologians and canon lawyers.
The reason the germans are changing their religious status with the government is to avoid paying the automatic church tax. So can someone tell me does this mean a person is automatically excommunicated?
Do all churches in Germany have a church tax?
(Lutheran, Methodist, even synogogues,etc?)
Or just the Catholic Church?
Catholics always claim that you can’t live without God, yet we have an existence proof to the contrary of millions of people doing just that – living perfectly well without any gods.
Perhaps dying without God is another matter!
Spending your free time and energy writing bitter and bigoted posts on a religious website doesn’t exactly fit the definition of “living well” now, does it?
They weren’t living perfectly well during the eras of the atheistic despots of Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and Schickelgruber.
As a matter of fact they weren’t living at all.
And lest we forget the zeitgeist’s human sacrifices.
Synodaling while the Church burns.
What you prove is not only the invincible stupidity of forming unprovable presumptions about minds you cannot know, but the impossibility of religion hatred without conceit disguising desperation.
A few months ago, the contributors of CWR said more and more people were joining this church. This article must be false.
Brian: If Germany was the only country with Catholics, well, that would be the case. But the Catholic Church, in case you didn’t know, is global.
So, while the number of Catholics in some (not all) Western countries has decreased in recent decades, the Church is growing worldwide.
In 2020, the number of Catholics worldwide increased 16 million, mostly in Asia and Africa. And the numbers continue to grow.
Abandoning ship while there’s still room in the lifeboats. Smart move.
All they are doing is what one of your readers claimed to be doing several days ago. “After reading about the Church defending Rupnik I decided I will donate zero to the Church untill [sic] they apologize and throw Rupnik’s work in the trashcan.” Oh, and this reader was defended by several others, or at least I was attacked for pointing out that leaving the Church, or failing to support AT LEAST ONE’S OWN PARISH (which is how most people donate to the Church) is not the right thing for a Catholic to do.
This doesn’t mean, as one joker suggested, that Francis is my “hero”. He’s my Pope, though. He’s almost certainly the worst Pope in 500 years, and he’s as worldly as a Renaissance Pope (without, apparently, the mistresses and illegitimate children), but yes, he is the Pope. Not me. Not you. Not the editors of this mag. Deal with it. Or admit you are Protestant.
Is there any study or reasonable explanation for why German Catholics are leaving the Church?
Maybe it has something to do with the big-tent ecclesiology of “everybody, everybody”…. when contradicted by the German automatic excommunication for everybody (!) declining to sign the annual state income tax form as Catholic (branded as “apostates!”)–so as to pay the 8% tax add-on to automatically support apostate bishops marketing der Synodal Weg?
The problem with German Catholics is lack of knowledge about the Catholic Church. They have made it a temporal organization which should be run be synods. Church is not a democratic organization. They are just like Martin Luther who thought that Faith alone is enough for salvation. Germans need prayers – they are mixing up religion with material matters. It is only Jesus, the founder of the Catholic Church that can intervene through prayer. I see even Vatican is putting emphasis on administration rather than spiritual matters. I have realized that even Bishops, Cardinals luck important knowledge about Catholicism, the Church Christ instituted; the gates of hell should not reveal against it. The moment you see leaders tampering with the faith, you go on your needs and Jesus will intervene. Let the whole Church be on its needs.