Germany: Catholic journalists applaud incompatibility of far-right parties with the Church, as reiterated by the Bishops

The German Society of Catholic Publicists (Gkp) welcomed the statement made by the Bishops’ Conference of Germany (Dbk) about commitment to the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) being incompatible with the services and offices of the Catholic Church. “With its ideology, AfD threatens civil liberties, including freedom of expression and freedom of the press”, Gkp Joachim Frank, president of Gkp, stated in Cologne last Sunday. As media professionals with a Christian background, the members of Gkp defend the dignity and inalienable rights of all people. “We are glad that the German Bishops, in their statement ‘Ethno-nationalism and Christianity are incompatible’, unequivocally oppose to the spreading of far-right slogans within the Church”. The Catholic journalists also share the Bishops’ position that such political membership is incompatible with full-time or volunteer work within the Church. “We aim to formally confirm it for our association with our resolution at the general meeting of Gkp”, Frank announced. In the document the Bishops voted on last week, during the spring plenary session of the Bishops’ Conference of Germany, they undisputedly take their distances from AfD.

Massimo Lavena