As reported by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, Bishop Ulrich Neymeyr of Erfurt said before the event that the Katholikentag was an opportunity to showcase the Church.
According to organizers, some 6,000 people heard Steinmeier’s address on Wednesday. Overall, organizers hope to attract around 20,000 participants.
On Thursday, the German Synodal Way co-presidents addressed Erfurt participants. While Bishop George Bätzing assured the audience the controversial process was not guiding the Church in Germany toward a new schism, his co-president, Irme Stetter-Karp of the ZdK, called for “gender equality” as well as “a separation of power and authority and a different style of working together” in the Catholic Church.
This week’s topics include peace and reconciliation, climate and social justice, democracy and right-wing extremism, and polarization in the Church.
On Thursday, a podium discussion titled in the official program “The Body of Christ Is Queer — What Now?” saw one German theologian praising “increased visibility for queer people” thanks to campaigns such as “Out in Church,” though the theologian also demanded further “reforms.”
A speaker from the German Lesbian and Gay Association called on bishops to show “active repentance” for long-standing discrimination against “queer people,” for example, by supporting the addition of the term “sexual identity” to the German Basic Law.
Previously, the German event made headlines for different reasons. In 2022, a Muslim politician and at least one Protestant politician received Communion at Masses celebrated at the event.
The event in Erfurt concludes on June 2. Another “Catholics Day” is expected to take place in Würzburg in 2026.
Credit: Source link
