Germany: Mgr. Bätzing (Limburg), “those with broadest shoulders should take on more responsibility during pandemic”

Georg Bätzing, Bishop of Limburg and President of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK), addressed the first social letter to the faithful of his diocese. In his letter entitled “public and individual responsibility at the time of the coronavirus pandemic”, Mgr. Bätzing warns against the social divisions caused by the pandemic. “The situation of people who were disadvantaged even before the pandemic is worsening”, the bishop stresses. As social divisions are increasing, politics and society are called to act on their own responsibility. In brief, those with “the broadest shoulders” should take on more responsibility. It is important to prevent social crises, the prelate says. People should not be left alone as a matter of “individual responsibility”. As a result of the pandemic, the elderly and the sick, people affected by poverty or struggling to make ends meet, homeless people, asylum seekers, refugees, unemployed persons or single parents may not only fear for their health, but also experience loneliness. Poor households or households with children with disabilities are in need of more assistance. There is a need for “more immediate financial help and support services”. All low-income workers, including the self-employed and small craft businesses, are in crisis: for them, too, the bishop calls for urgent action.
Valentina Bombelli