The dispute over immigration is dividing the country and abuse scandals rocking the Catholic Church. About Thomas Sternberg, President of the Central Committee of German Catholics, speaks in Interview of the week.
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Interview – Thomas Sternberg: “Our basic law, will never allow an upper limit”
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Interview – Thomas Sternberg: “Our basic law, will never allow an upper limit”
No theme was and is disputed in Germany, so emotional and relentlessly as on the issue of immigration. Unforgiving the counterparty. On the one side are those who assert that we must help people in Need and you are recording are on the other side are those who emphasize that many refugees come only for economic reasons and Germany have already taken in more refugees than it could handle. The limit was exceeded. “There may be limits. These limits I see in us is not reached”, on the other hand says Thomas Sternberg in an Interview the week of the German wave.
The President of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) asks: “are we To war refugees?” and immediately the answer that Germany had to offer, of course, a refuge. The claim that refugees are crowded only because of the social benefits to Germany, he is wrong.
AfD is acting “UN-Christian”
The Alternative for Germany (AfD), the German Bundestag, by far, the sharpest critic of the refugee policy of Angela Merkel. It is, therefore, unchristian? Not so, says Sternberg, is representing 23 million Catholics in Germany. Unchristian, you don’t be, because it is opposed to the refugee policy, but because they do it in a way that he will refuse with all the sharpness.
In populist movements, the variety of people, including many who were not taken with your problems of the other parties and feel left behind. The AfD use a “to the shameless border,” says Sternberg. He also criticized the Statements of the party top. If the AfD Chairman Alexander Gauland say that AfD was the stake in the flesh of a system that must be overcome, then a democracy-limit is exceeded, the must cause, in my opinion, the strongest resistance is.
The two AfD group Chairman Alice ryegrass and Alexander Gauland, in front of a poster with the Slogan “a wave of refugees leaves its mark!”
The AfD is not the only party, the open borders policy of German Chancellor and CDU Chairwoman Angela Merkel criticized. Also from the sister party, the CSU, criticism comes to the part. She had demanded for the reception of refugees, an upper limit of 200,000 people per year. For Thomas Sternberg this is for two reasons incomprehensible: this number was not achieved, and “will allow our basic law is never an upper limit. Since there are no limits.”
Abuse scandals: “Affected”
Pope Francis speaks before the Chilean bishops, he because of the abuse scandal to be ordered
For many years, more and more cases of sexual violence against children in a number of countries in the case of the Catholic Church into the light. Whether in the United States, Australia, Chile, Ireland, or Germany – the revelations piled up. Has covered up the Catholic Church in Germany this scandal for decades, fraudulently concealed and suppressed? The President of the Central Committee of German Catholics, to certify to the Church that they have worked amazingly hard on this and a thorough investigation, commissioned after the scandal in 2010 had become public.
In the investigation, there has been, however, a lot of criticism, because the researchers were not allowed to review the files of all the bishoprics, and thus, presumably, not the actual extent of sexualised violence could be determined. Thomas Sternberg finds that the Numbers are “scary enough”. He pointed out that the lay employees and women Religious were not even part of the investigation.
The perpetrators have not been named in addition, unlike in some other countries – to the public, just as little as those who have moved often easy to suspend instead of, for example, from the service. Sternberg throws in, that the criminal proceedings should go ahead, “because, of course, also things that are not proved in these files”. He warns against Prejudices, and refers to the case of the now deceased Bishop of Hildesheim, against the accusations publicly, which could however not confirm. More important, Sternberg, from all, to support those Affected, and prevention and control to further Attacks to prevent.
Members of the Catholic lay movement “We are Church” Assembly of the German bishops ‘ conference in 2010 on call on the occasion of the Spring plenary, the bishops to do more against sexual abuse
“We need a woman-friendly Church”
A priest of the Catholic Church must not be married, in contrast to deacons. The celibacy says. The study commissioned by the German bishops ‘ conference has now proven that priests were five times more often offenders than deacons. The mandatory celibacy of the priests is part of the problem? Thomas Sternberg doesn’t believe that. Although the abolition of celibacy would not lead to the priest, otherwise with sexuality circumvented, but it would be the solution to the problem. Just because someone is Single does not mean, finally, that he need that’s why children miss. Most frequently, sexualized violence in the family environment.
Even if Thomas Sternberg is not the celibacy up for discussion, he enlists for changes. “Overall, we will need a much more woman-friendly Church,” said the ZdK-President – and not just in the parish but also in the top offices. The greater “mixing” with women “I think is really essential”.
Thomas Sternberg is since 2015, the President of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK). He was born in 1952 in Grevenbrück, in the Sauerland region. According to a Baker he made the evening high school graduation and then studied German language and literature, art history, and theology in Bonn, Münster and Rome. Thomas Sternberg is since 1974 a member of the CDU, and sat for it from 2005 to 2017 in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 1996 he is a member of the Central Committee of German Catholics. He is married and has five children.