14.08.04 - Germans Leaving Catholic Church Due to Scandals
Summary:
Scandals are causing more Germans to leave the Catholic Church, according to a cardinal.
| Share with others: |
|
Tweet |
MAINZ, Germany (CNS) -- A German cardinal warned that the number of Catholics leaving his country's church is "alarmingly high" and urged an end to "scandals and vexations" involving clergy.
"There's no doubt these figures must make us think. We've obviously suffered a loss of trust and credibility which has rarely happened so violently," Cardinal Karl Lehmann of Mainz wrote in a column published in the Aug. 3 issue of Faith and Life, the diocese's weekly newspaper.
"The church isn't just another club, and all efforts must now be made to prevent more scandals through repentance and renewal," wrote Cardinal Lehmann, a former president of the German bishops' conference.
The column followed the release of new church data that showed a sharp increase in Catholics removing their names from parish and diocesan membership rolls.
Registered departures slowed during the 2005-2013 pontificate of German Pope Benedict XVI, but jumped again to nearly 179,000 last year, from more than 118,000 in 2012. More than 10,000 Catholics joined or rejoined the church during the year, according to church data.
Departures doubled to nearly 8,000 in the troubled Limburg Diocese, where Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst resigned in March after controversy emerged over expenditures for his residence and a diocesan center.
The church reported that Sunday Mass attendance dropped from 11.7 percent to 10.8 percent of Catholics during the year, compared to 22 percent in 1989. Church baptisms and marriages also fell.
In addition, the number of Catholic parishes dropped during 2013 by 137 to just over 11,000 after several of the country's 27 dioceses launched reorganizations to cope with declining membership.
The "positive example" set by Pope Francis appeared unable to prevent "a high potential for disappointment among Catholics," he said. Formal resignations from church membership were often "the final stage of a long process of distancing from it," he said.
Read the original news story here:
Scandals causing more Germans to leave Catholic Church, cardinal says
Science Deceptions
Media Deceptions
Reformation
Spiritual Deceptions
Is there evidence for Creation science? How does it compare to evolution? The following articles give insight in to these questions and more.
Conforming Under Pressure
Evolution Is Not Science—It's Religion
How Can We See Stars That Are Billions Of Light Years Away?
Creation and Evolution: Is Compromise Possible?
Understanding the Creation Week
The Rise of Evolutionary Thinking
Geocentricity: It's Time to Face the Facts
Earth's History: Conflicting Paradigms
Lamarck Proposes Natural Selection
Where did the Universe Come From?
Evidence for a Young Universe
Age Of The Earth
Is Carbon-Dating Accurate?
Flood Chronology
Can we understand the age of the earth by the rocks? What theory does the evidence support?
What does the fossil record show us? Is it all random or a defined science that we can understand? Where does evolution fit? Uncover mysteries in the history of the Earth.
As we study the genome, the molecule, and the atom, we see a vast network of intricate systems beyond our understanding. Were these systems really formed by chance?
Is the Gastraea Hypothesis Viable?
Mechanisms For Variation
Built-in Variation in the Gene Pool
Why So Many Species - Glossary
"Species" versus "Kind"
Molecules That Began Life
Creating Life in a Test Tube?
Post-Flood Distribution
Answering Questions
Natural Selection
Reproductive Exchange
Natural Selection as a Creative Force
Transposable Elements
Recombination of Chromosomes
The Evidence of Things Not Seen
Ernst Haeckel's Theories
Dinosaur Extinction and Global Catastrophe
Variation and Classification
Jesus Christ—All Things Become New
Evolution: Miracle of Miracles
Why So Many Species?
Is The Grand Canyon Proof of Noah's Flood?
Spiders and the Creative Genius of God
Things That Negate Evolution: Snake Legs
Wrong Assumptions in C-14 Dating Methods
Rapid Cave Formation
The Australian Problem
Synesthesia: Mystery of God’s Creation
How did this world change from the perfection depicted in Genesis to a world full of thorns, thistles, parasites, and death? If God made everything perfect, how could it have all been so changed?
Archaeology and prophecy have proven the Bible to be true. But what's so special about the Bible that makes it a point of so much controversy?
Music is a powerful emotional motivator that crosses cultural and language barriers. Its message can be understood by every culture and people across the planet.
The Philosophers Talk Music
Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Christianity
The Pursuit of Pleasure
Music and Worship
The Beat
The Rave
Can You Feel the Music?
Whose Music?
The Bible and Rock Music: Are they Compatible?
The Ear
The Last Great Contest – Worship
Classical Music Therapy
Music and the Frontal Lobe
From the Horse's Mouth: The Rock Industry Condemns Itself
What is the system of worship found most often in our society? Does it glorify God?
Research has shown that our sensitivity to stimuli reduces itself yearly by about 1%. Is your brain hibernating?
Beware of the television's abilities to hypnotize, alter moods, and even cause depression.
Like music and movies, video games are addictive and can cause behavioral problems.
What is the origin behind this popular festival celebrated every October 31?
What started the Protestant Reformation? Was the Reformation a success? Does it still matter today?
Read proof that throughout the Roman Church's history, the Papacy has often claimed that the Pope is divine.
The oppression of Protestants is widespread and consistent throughout history.
It was once written in America's oldest Catholic newspaper, the Boston Pilot, that "No good government can exist without religion, and there can be no religion without an Inquisition, which is wisely designed for the promotion and protection of the true faith.”
Read several authors' thoughts on papal Rome's history.
Read several authors' thoughts on papal Rome's history.
Learn what people throughout history have had to say on the reputation, history, and political nature of the Jesuit Order.
This book "Cross and Crown" is a powerful and thrilling recital of the most romantic and dramatic incidents in history to be found on record, told in the simplest, most graphic, and entertaining form.
The historian Ranke says this about Protestant-Catholic relations: "In the year 1617, everything betokened a decisive conflict between them. The Catholic party appears to have felt itself the superior. At all events it was the first to take up arms."
This article highlights quotes from historical and Catholic sources proving the Papacy's aggressive nature.
This article highlights quotes from historical and Catholic sources proving the Papacy's aggressive nature.
Would the world be a safer place without Christian fundamentalism?
Dive into history to uncover the remarkable stories of faith and passion in early Protestantism.
An Italian mystic. A minister to a British king. An Augustine monk. A Swiss farmer's boy. What do these men have in common? They were used by God in powerful ways to bring about the Protestant Reformation. Enter into the lives of these ordinary people with extraordinary stories.
Inspiration for these articles comes from Gideon and Hilda Hagstoz' Heroes of the Reformation
An Italian mystic. A minister to a British king. An Augustine monk. A Swiss farmer's boy. What do these men have in common? They were used by God in powerful ways to bring about the Protestant Reformation. Enter into the lives of these ordinary people with extraordinary stories.
Inspiration for these articles comes from Gideon and Hilda Hagstoz' Heroes of the Reformation
Language can be used to communicate both truth and lies. Learn about the religious doublespeak being used to pull the wool over the eyes of the world.
Hegelian dialectic thinking is applied in many situations in world politics. Often the ordinary people are used as pawns in the game of Hegelian psychology played by those who pull the strings of world control.
Read this classic work by Ellen G. White.
The Destruction of Jerusalem
Persecution in the First Centuries
An Era of Spiritual Darkness
The Waldenses
John Wycliffe
Huss and Jerome
Luther's Separation From Rome
Luther Before the Diet
The Swiss Reformer
Progress of Reform in Germany
Protest of the Princes
The French Reformation
The Netherlands and Scandinavia
Later English Reformers
The Bible and the French Revolution
The Pilgrim Fathers
Heralds of the Morning
An American Reformer
Light Through Darkness
A Great Religious Awakening
A Warning Rejected
Prophecies Fulfilled
What is the Sanctuary?
In the Holy of Holies
God's Law Immutable
A Work of Reform
Modern Revivals
Facing Life's Record
The Origin of Evil
Enmity Between Man and Satan
Agency of Evil Spirits
Snares of Satan
The First Great Deception
Can Our Dead Speak to Us?
Liberty of Conscience Threatened
The Impending Conflict
The Scriptures a Safeguard
The Final Warning
The Time of Trouble
God's People Delivered
Desolation of the Earth
The Controversy Ended
Is Jesus really who He says He is?
Did Jesus Ever Exist?
Was Jesus the Messiah?
Is Jesus God?
Jesus: The Mercy Seat
Is What Christianity Teaches True?
The Godhead and the One True God Movement
Why Did Jesus Have To Die?
Six Purposes for Christ's Life and Death on Earth
What Day Did Jesus Die?
The 70-Week Prophecy
Jesus, the Recycled Redeemer
Names of Christ in Revelation
How will Christ return, and what will it mean for His people?
What are the trends in the religious world today? Sun Worship, The UN and the One World Religion, Eastern Mysticism and Spiritism... Just what do all these things mean in light of Bible prophecy?
Sun Worship
Babylonian Religion
The Charismatic Movement
Politics and the Papacy
Paganism and Mary
Wealth Redistribution
Unity at All Cost?
Sustainability
Spiritism throughout Religions
Catholic Pentecostalism
Paganism and Christmas
Pentecostalism
The Charismatic Movement and Spiritual Gifts
Manifesting the Charismatic Spirit
The New Age Movement
Paganism in our Culture
The United Nations' Global Government
The History of Tongues
Secret Societies
Signs and Wonders
Revival and the "Power of God"
What’s So Bad about Spiritual Formation?
Zionism
Most people can understand the reasoning behind nine of the Ten Commandments—don't kill, don't lie, don't steal. But what about the Sabbath Commandment? Why would God give such a law? Why should we follow it?
How will Christ return, and what will it mean for His people?
Can the Bible be trusted to provide answers to our questions? Does it contain truth? Learn about the evidence that proves the Bible's authenticity.
Consider the crucial points of the Christian life.
Is there more to death than the fact that it is the opposite of life? What are the false doctrines involving the immortality of the soul?
