German Church leaders divided over intervention on immigration bill

The CDU bill proposed to limit immigration, restrict family reunification schemes and give border police more powers of detention to secure deportations.

Delegates for Germany’s main Churches in Berlin condemned a bill to limit immigration brought forward in the Bundestag by the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which eventually failed to pass despite the support of far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) deputies.

Even before the vote on 31 January, the bill caused intense debate. If passed, it would have been the first bill voted through the federal parliament with far-right votes, breaking a post-war “firewall” against mainstream parties seeking support from movements with any neo-Nazi connection.

On 2 February, around 160,000 joined a march in Berlin protesting against the CDU strategy. A further 20,000 protested in Regensburg, 14,000 in Kiel, 5,000 in Ulm and 4,000 in Würzburg. In Cologne, 350 boats took to the Rhine with banners demanding “No racism” and “For democracy and diversity”.

The Catholic Bureau in Berlin, headed by Mgr Karl Jüsten, and the representatives of the Council of the Evangelical Church, led by Dr Anne Gidion, issued a joint statement on 28 January addressed to Bundestag deputies. It condemned arguments in the bill that were “likely to defame all migrants living in Germany, to stir up prejudices and, in our opinion, [do] not contribute to solving the real issues”.

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The bill proposed to limit immigration, restrict family reunification schemes and give border police more powers of detention to secure deportations.

Although the Berlin offices provide the Churches’ official liaison with federal politics, the statement was not coordinated with either’s national leadership. Some dioceses reported objections from Catholics angered by its criticism of the CDU’s strategy.

Beate Gilles, secretary general of the bishops’ conference, said the statement “had not been coordinated with the secretariat”.  Catholic bishops close to the CDU or opposed to political commitment ahead of elections on 23 February criticised the intervention. “I therefore recommend refraining from making any further statements,” Gilles said.

While some bishops publicly distanced themselves from the statement, others welcomed the bill’s defeat.

Speaking on 2 February, Cardinal Reinhold Marx of Munich warned against nationalist leaders who only brought “retribution and revenge, new suffering, new wars”. He said the Nazi period showed “there is no joy in nationalism, anti-Semitism, racism, only a triumph that is not sustainable”. The influential lay Central Committee of German Catholics called the bill’s defeat “a victory for decency”. 

Other critics of the statement said they objected to its form more than its content. The bishops’ conference spokesman Matthias Kopp said it contained “those positions that have been repeatedly stated publicly in recent months and that have been brought together here”.

It was not clear what effect the defeat or the cooperation with the AfD would have on CDU leader Friedrich Merz, whom polls suggested was the favourite to win this month’s elections.

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