Local Church

German Survey Shows Support for the Unification of the Catholic and Protestant Churches

The most striking result emerges among Catholics themselves: 44% favour a merger, compared with 30% who oppose it.

Nov 05, 2026 17:44

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Cardinals and Bishops

Former Head of the German Bishops’ Conference Lashes Out at Pope Leo XIV

The controversy stems from Leo XIV’s return flight from France on September 28, following a visit that included a meeting in Lourdes with seven survivors of sexual abuse

Nov 03, 2026 19:31

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Analysis Opinion•Young People

The crisis of meaning: a key factor in conversion among men, according to a Finnish study

The digital world also played a part. Forty percent of participants said public discussions of Christianity or religious content on social media had contributed to their interest. Podcasts, online sermons and videos offered accessible ways to explore questions that might not arise in their immediate social circles

Oct 24, 2026 19:37

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Religious Freedom

Can Europe Erase a Baptism? A Legal Battle Puts Church Autonomy to the Test

The case, known as Bisdom Gent, is now before the Court of Justice of the European Union. It follows an opinion issued on October 1 by Advocate General Laila Medina, who concluded that European data-protection law can, in principle, give a baptized person the right to have personal information removed from a baptismal register when the church cannot demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for retaining it.

Oct 07, 2026 17:41

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Pro Life

Andorra and Liechtenstein: two European microstates facing the same problem—abortion while remaining Catholic

The two cases share an unusual feature: both countries have Catholic majorities and constitutional arrangements in which the Church or a Catholic head of state retains an institutional role. Yet they illustrate two very different ways in which questions of abortion, political authority and conscience can collide.

Sep 15, 2026 15:35

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Bioethics•Local Church•Religious Freedom

The Catholic Church in Poland Takes a Stand on Surrogacy and Faces a Battle to Defend Religious Education Classes

The bishops’ objection goes far beyond the legal status of surrogacy. Their central concern is that the arrangement risks transforming both motherhood and childhood into objects of a contractual transaction.

Sep 09, 2026 10:26

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Dicasteries•Gender Ideology•Local Church

Rome Reaffirms Catholic Teaching on Sex Education as Hamburg Parents Demand a Diocesan U-Turn

The Vatican has now intervened with a clarification that will be closely watched by Catholic educators and parents elsewhere in Germany. Responding to concerns raised by parents over the Archdiocese of Hamburg’s framework for sex education, the Dicastery for Culture and Education reaffirmed that the Church’s established position remains that set out in its 2019 document «Male and Female He Created Them.»

Aug 20, 2026 23:20

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Cardinals and Bishops

German bishop defies the Vatican’s ban on the homily, without claiming the right to violate it

Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz says he will not authorize lay preaching during the Mass. But he also says he will not discipline parishes where the practice continues, even though Rome has recently reaffirmed that the homily is reserved to priests and deacons

Aug 17, 2026 18:22

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Cardinals and Bishops•Gender Ideology•Local Church•Priests

German priests loyal to the Pope respond to their own bishop (and cardinal), who is pressuring them to bless same-sex couples in a major diocese

Twenty-six priests have written to Cardinal Reinhard Marx challenging his recommendation that Germany’s national guidelines for blessing couples in irregular situations, including same-sex couples, be implemented in the archdiocese. If the cardinal’s response does not resolve their concerns, the priests say they may ask the Holy See for an official clarification

Jul 24, 2026 19:21

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Local Church•Priests•Religious Freedom

A new Swiss law requires priests and monks to perform military service based on the premise that, in modern society, the clergy is no longer essential

Swiss men deemed fit for military service are generally required to complete approximately eight months of service, normally between the ages of 18 and 30. For generations, clergy were excluded from that obligation because they were considered essential to the civilian population, particularly in wartime

Jul 17, 2026 15:38

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Analysis Opinion•Good News•Local Church•Vocations

Becoming a monk and living in a monastery increases life expectancy, according to a scientific study published in Austria

The German-Austrian Monastery Study began with a modest academic thesis in the late 1990s. Nearly three decades later, it has become one of the most significant contributions to the scientific understanding of aging

Jul 14, 2026 18:31

Joachin Meisner Hertz

Causes of Saints•Local Church

A Nobel Prize on the path to sainthood: Bishop of Oslo announces the start of Sigrid Undset’s canonization process

Before announcing the initiative publicly, Bishop Hansen consulted both the Nordic Bishops’ Conference—which includes bishops from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden—and scholars familiar with Undset’s life and writings. The diocesan phase of the cause is expected to begin formally this autumn

Jul 09, 2026 09:19

Joachin Meisner Hertz