In the future, only leftists will be allowed to work for God and the Catholic Church – at least that’s what the chairman of the Central Committee of Catholics in Germany wants. In an interview with the magazine “Kirche und Leben”, Irme Stetter-Karp actually said: “Xenophobia and Christian values: they do not go together. I therefore appeal to the party’s state associations in the upcoming election campaigns Don’t show favoritism.”
And when asked whether AfD members – i.e. right-wing politicians – are still allowed to hold ordinary positions in the Catholic Church, the Catholic President said: “No. In the new annual report in June 2023, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution named the AfD a suspect”. Listed as right-wing extremist. With reasons. The party has leaned more to the right over the years. And it is clear that anti-Semitic, racist, dehumanizing attitudes and statements have no place in a Catholic organization. However, The relevant statutes and electoral rules are legally decisive here. If an AFD member contests for office, it is necessary to examine whether such candidature can be rejected.
The well-known German news site tikysenblink.de confronted the AfD about this. Quote: “Representatives of the AfD see this as a violation of the separation between state and religious institutions and criticize the Central Committee of Catholics as ‘an obedient institution of today’s awakened society’.”
According to Tichisenblink.de, Joachim Kuhs, chairman of “Christians in the AfD”, sees the president’s statements as a neglect of the separation of church and state: “The result will be that there will be two groups of lay officials – one investigating Will be and not the other’s.”
In the first reactions on social media platforms, the Catholic Church’s new line has been explicitly criticized: “This distinction between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Catholics is insane. Who installed this in the Vatican?” asks a Facebook user. And: “What else is there to scare voters of non-left parties?”
