Berlin, Germany, Sep 21, 2011 / 11:33 am
Germans should listen to what Pope Benedict XVI has to say to them before passing judgment, says one of the country’s top Catholic bishops. The Pope will begin a four-day visit to his homeland Sept. 22, starting in the capital city of Berlin.
“The Holy Father is going to visit a city in which Christians are a minority and some already have announced protests a long time before his arrival,” noted Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki of Berlin, Sept. 21.
“I once again invite everyone to listen first to what the Pope has to say and then to pass judgment.”
The four-day visit will be Pope Benedict’s third to Germany since being elected pontiff in 2005, although it is his first as the Vatican’s head-of-state.
Already over 100 left-wing politicians have threatened to boycott his address to the German parliament, the Bundestag, on Friday. Social Democrat parliamentarian Ulla Burchardt summed up her opposition Sept. 20, saying, “A head of state who disregards labor rights, women's rights and the right to sexual self-determination should not be allowed to address the Bundestag.”