Extremists ‘cannot set the tone’, German bishops warn

‘Those who voted for the AfD in the federal election knew what they wanted to support, and they must take responsibility for that. They cannot count on our solidarity on these issues.’

Germany’s bishops concluded their spring plenary expressing worry about the growing popularity of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, which came in second in recent national elections, and disturbing changes in international politics.

Speaking after the meeting concluded on 13 March, Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, the conference president, ruled out any cooperation with the AfD and said the Church should work to convince its voters of the superiority of mainstream democratic parties.

“Those who voted for the AfD in the federal election knew what they wanted to support, and they must take responsibility for that. They cannot count on our solidarity on these issues,” he said.

“Extremist forces and those who sympathise with Putin despite the attack on Ukraine, which violates international law, must not be allowed to set the tone.”

Bätzing said the meeting took Ukraine’s side against Russia: “A short-term peace agreement with Russia does not mean long-term peace in Europe if there are no reliable security guarantees for Ukraine. A ‘dictated peace’ would rather increase the threats to stability on our entire continent.”

He also rejected US President Donald Trump’s pressure on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to give Washington control of Ukraine’s rare earth reserves. “That is a scandal,” he said.

Bätzing said the meeting had underlined its arguments about climate change, criticised conservative calls for tighter immigration rules and stressed the continuing need to listen to and compensate victims of clerical sexual abuse.

It took no further decisions on its Synodal Committee, which the Vatican mistrusts because it fears bishops could be outvoted by laymen. “Synodality obliges us not to make such considerations and distinctions exclusively within the circle of bishops,” he said.

The bishop emphasised that a programme to put more women into leading Church roles meant they now occupied about one-third of all middle and upper-level leadership positions.

Asked about further reforms, he said “somewhat provocatively” that this growing trend was not meant as a way to quiet demands for female ordination. “Actually, the opposite will be the case. They will become more pressing,” he said.

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