Published December 22,2023
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The variety of folks leaving the Catholic Church in Germany in 2023 is anticipated to stay excessive, a yr after a record-breaking half one million Catholics turned their backs on their church buildings, a dpa survey reveals.
According to the survey of German cities and municipalities performed for dpa, tens of 1000’s have once more left the Church this yr, nevertheless the variety of Catholics leaving shouldn’t be anticipated to surpass final yr’s exodus.
In some areas, barely fewer folks have left the Catholic and Protestant church buildings than in earlier years.
In Freiburg in south-west Germany, a area that was rocked by a sexual abuse scandal involving senior German prelate Robert Zollitsch – the variety of folks leaving the church fell, regardless of the controversy.
In April, Zollitsch was accused in an professional report on sexual abuse by clergy in Germany of failing to report instances to Rome throughout his time as archbishop of Freiburg. The Vatican has since opened an investigation into whether or not Zollitsch ought to face disciplinary proceedings.
Freiburg theologian and canon regulation professional Georg Bier instructed dpa that “those who leave the church out of disappointment with current developments have had sufficient reason to do so in the past and have long since taken this step.”
The proportion of these leaving the church who’ve undergone a significant life change, corresponding to transferring out of the parental house or coming into skilled life, is growing once more.
In 2022, the Catholic German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) reported that 522,821 Catholics left their church.
Protestants reported a complete of 380,000 folks leaving the church nationwide in the identical interval.
That yr, the report on instances of abuse within the Catholic archdiocese of Munich and Freising, which made worldwide headlines, most likely additionally contributed to the exploding variety of folks leaving the church – particularly in Bavaria.
At the start of the yr, when the report was offered, the numbers skyrocketed.
Religious schooling professional Ulrich Riege mentioned: “On the one hand, nothing significant has changed that should significantly break the momentum of resignations.”
“On the other hand, however, nothing significant has happened either – such as a new report concerning a prominent bishop – that should significantly push the wave upwards.”
“I expect the figures to remain high,” emphasised Riegel.
Source: www.anews.com.tr