Joachin Meisner Hertz, Author at ZENIT

Articles By Joachin Meisner Hertz

Gender Ideology•Local Church•Marriage and Family•Religious Freedom

Sex education in Catholic schools sparks a dispute between parents and the bishop of Hamburg, with the Vatican looking on

The latest controversy concerns an internal email dated August 28, 2026, from the archdiocese’s vicar general, Father Sascha-Philipp Geißler. He characterized the parents’ campaign as an attempt to create uncertainty and discord in school communities, and advised employees not to respond to the network’s messages or enter into debate

Sep 24, 2026 18:52

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Local Church

Despite its progressive stance, the Catholic Church in Germany is one of the biggest financial contributors: here are the numbers

The figure, published September 16 by the German Bishops’ Conference in its annual “Global Church” report, represents a decline of almost 10 percent from the approximately €595 million provided in 2024

Sep 21, 2026 19:54

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Cardinals and Bishops•Gender Ideology•Marriage and Family

German Bishop Promotes Gender Ideology in Schools; Parents Speak Out to Rome; Vatican Remains Silent

Hamburg’s Catholic Schools Face a Test of Parental Trust — and Rome’s Silence

Aug 16, 2026 13:05

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Holy Land•Justice and Peace•Persecuted Christians

Franciscans Ask Marco Rubio for Help in the Face of Persecution by Jewish Settlers Affecting Christians (and Others) in the Holy Land

The Franciscan concern is not isolated. Church leaders in Jerusalem have repeatedly denounced vandalism, desecration, spitting at clergy and verbal and physical attacks attributed to extremist ultra-Orthodox Jewish elements

Jul 24, 2026 19:38

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Local Church

Russia attacks the Ukrainian capital and burns down the important Orthodox cathedral in Kyiv, a World Heritage Site

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot remarked that, for France, such an attack would be equivalent to bombing Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron denounced any assault on what he described as humanity’s shared heritage

Jun 15, 2026 15:30

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Analysis Opinion•Islam•Local Church•Young People

Vienna’s Silent Transformation: Nearly 50% of students in schools are already Muslim. Only 17% are Catholic

Perhaps no recent controversy symbolizes Vienna’s cultural unease more clearly than the city government’s decision earlier this year not to erect a statue honoring Polish King John III Sobieski. Sobieski led the Christian coalition that defeated Ottoman forces outside Vienna on September 12, 1683, in one of the decisive battles of European history

May 13, 2026 21:43

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Cardinals and Bishops•Gender Ideology•Local Church

Germany: Defying Rome, Cardinal Marx Officially Announces Blessings for Same-Sex Couples

By proposing structured ceremonies and embedding them within diocesan pastoral planning, the guidelines exceed the parameters outlined by the Holy See

Apr 21, 2026 08:53

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Persecuted Christians•Religious Freedom

Between Cross and Power: Persecution, Propaganda, and the Cost of Faith in Russian-Controlled Territories

Two episodes, distinct in geography but closely linked in context, illustrate a pattern that is drawing increasing concern among observers of religious freedom: the death in custody of a Christian blogger in Russia, and the seizure of a Catholic church in occupied Ukraine during one of the most sacred moments of the Christian calendar

Apr 21, 2026 08:48

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Local Church

Lefebvrians will proceed with episcopal ordinations without papal authorization and have released further details

Even logistical details surrounding the planned consecrations hint at the scale of the event. Pilgrims are expected to attend in significant numbers, though, unlike previous years, camping near the seminary will not be permitted

Mar 24, 2026 19:07

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Cardinals and Bishops•Vatican Diplomacy

Vatican Diplomacy Recognized: EU Honors Cardinal Pietro Parolin with the First European Order of Merit

The recipients were selected by a committee composed of Metsola, European Parliament vice-presidents Sophie Wilmès and Ewa Kopacz, along with several former senior European leaders, including Michel Barnier, José Manuel Barroso, Josep Borrell and Enrico Letta

Mar 12, 2026 20:02

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Local Church

Russian government launches unprecedented attack on Patriarch of Constantinople using these terms

At the heart of the SVR’s accusation lies the claim that Bartholomew is deliberately undermining Orthodox unity in order to weaken the Moscow Patriarchate

Jan 16, 2026 19:16

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Local Church

Parish closures: new data shows the decline of the Catholic Church in Germany, the most progressive… and “synodal”

Beyond logistics and numbers, the closures raise questions about identity and direction. They unfold against the backdrop of ongoing debates surrounding the German Synodal Path and the proposed Synodal Council, initiatives that have drawn criticism for positions viewed by many as doctrinally ambiguous or openly heterodox

Dec 30, 2025 17:19

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Pope Leo XIV will visit Mexico twice, according to statements by the president of the Mexican Bishops’ Conference. The dates will be as follows

Neither trip has been confirmed by the Holy See, but the possibility reflects the growing importance of the Guadalupe jubilee in the Mexican Church’s pastoral plans and its ambitions for a wider spiritual renewal across the Americas.

What kind of Church do people encounter when they are at their most vulnerable? Leo XIV opens the conference on Amoris Laetitia by placing vulnerability at the center

Remarks by the Pope at the beginning of the meeting with the leaders of the Eastern Churches and the presidents of the episcopal conferences, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of “Amoris laetitia”