German Catholics urged to speak up in politics

Germany’s head of state asked Catholics to take a larger part in political discourse rather than argue among themselves.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the biennial Katholikentag – “Catholic Assembly” – in Erfurt last week, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said politically active Catholics were a “blessing” to Germany and asked why some do not speak out on social issues: “Do people still see convincing answers to the fundamental questions of life? Do they find spiritual guidance?”

Steinmeier, a Protestant, suggested the Church’s diminishing role was a problem for German politics. Most of the country’s leading politicians, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz, attended the Katholikentag, which has traditionally combined a celebration of faith with a political occasion. 

The first assembly was called in 1848 for German-speaking lay Catholics to discuss their political views and agenda, even before the foundation of the German state.

This year’s assembly was heavily informed by the rise of populism in Germany. The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is likely to become part of the government of the state of Thuringia – of which Erfurt is the capital – in forthcoming regional elections, leading the polls with 30 per cent of the vote. 

Although only seven per cent of the state’s population are Catholic, its Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow told domradio.de that their role in combatting populism was significant. “Catholics are a small, very particular part of our state, but indeed a very important one,” he said.

Some critics of the German Church have said that its reform debates have stopped it intervening effectively on societal issues.

In his own message to the Katholikentag, Pope Francis called for a “genuine reorientation” towards God in all aspects of life. “The many moral, social, economic and political crises we are experiencing are all interconnected,” he said.  

“Care for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, the protection of life and the family, the defence of the dignity of all human life as well as outer and inner peace all belong together.”

This focus was undercut by the assembly’s continued struggle with declining attendance. The 20,000 people at Erfurt exceeded the historic low of 19,000 at the previous assembly in Stuttgart in 2022, an increase which surprised some given the Church’s continued decline amid scandals and disagreements. 

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