WelCom March 2024
The Catholic Church in Germany has expressed its concern over the rise of far-right, anti-Semitic, and anti-democratic groups that are gaining increased support among the German electorate ahead of the European Parliament elections in June, and other important regional and local polls to be held this year.
Of particular concern are radical groups such as the III Way, Heimat, and AfD (Alternative for Germany), a German nationalist, euro-sceptic, and anti-immigration party. Bishops, men and women religious and lay Catholic organisations have stated that they cannot accept the ideology of these parties, saying it is incompatible with Christian and democratic values.
Anti-far-right demonstrations have gained momentum in Germany in the past weeks after a report was released that said neo-Nazi leaders had met in Potsdam on 20 November 2023 to discuss the deportation of millions of immigrants, reawakening dark memories of the rise of National Socialism in the Thirties.
Large crowds of people have been taking to the streets in several major German cities, including Hamburg and Aachen, asking for the AfD to be banned.
Demonstrations, which culminated on 27 January, Holocaust Remembrance Day, were joined by Church leaders, including bishops from Lower Saxony. Bishop Heiner Wilmer of Hildesheim called on citizens to uphold democratic values, stating that ‘our democracy is alive because many in Germany are committed to it.’
Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen noted the ‘AfD has departed from democratic principles’ and that ‘Catholics cannot vote for this party’.
German men and women religious and Catholic lay organisations have taken a similar stance. The Executive Board of the Conference of Superiors of Germany (DOK), representing 14,300 religious, expressed horror at the news of the so-called ‘remigration’ plan discussed in Potsdam, saying it overtly contradicts the principle of equal dignity of all people, and the fundamental values of a free and democratic society.
Source: Vatican News