AC Wimmer

AC Wimmer

AC Wimmer is founding Editor-in-Chief of CNA Deutsch. The multilingual Australian, raised in Bavaria and South Africa, held senior roles at Australia's SBS and served as editor-in-chief of the historic Münchner Kirchenzeitung. A graduate in Philosophy and Chinese Studies from the University of Melbourne, Anian Christoph Wimmer — Chinese name 刘威猛 — sat on the jury of the Media Award of the German Bishops’ Conference, is a former Honorary Research Fellow in Communications at the University of Melbourne and served on the Board of Caritas in Munich.

Articles by AC Wimmer

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne attends a German Synodal Way assembly on March 9, 2023. Credit: Synodaler Weg/Maximilian von Lachner

Four German bishops resist push to install permanent ‘Synodal Council’

Apr 26, 2024 / 13:57 pm

The four bishops, including Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne, instead appealed for unity with the universal Church. 

Forensic police are seen at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in the Sydney suburb of Wakeley, Australia, on April 16, 2024. Hundreds clashed with police in western Sydney on April 15 after Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed at the alter during a service at an Assyrian church in Wakeley. New South Wales police have declared the attack a terror event. Police apprehended a 16-year-old in connection with the attack. Credit: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Australian archbishop, religious leaders urge calm after violent attack on Sydney bishop

Apr 16, 2024 / 11:30 am

“I urge the faithful to not respond to these events with fear, avoiding places of worship because they are worried about further attacks,” Archbishop Anthony Fisher said.

City skyline in Sydney, Australia. Irina Sokolovskaya/Shutterstock

Australian police arrest male suspect following stabbing attack at Sydney church

Apr 15, 2024 / 07:30 am

In a first statement, New South Wales police urged the community to avoid the area, saying several people were stabbed, suffering “non-life threatening injuries.”

Pope Francis speaks at the Vatican's Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Pope Francis expresses sorrow as Sydney knife attack shocks Australia

Apr 13, 2024 / 12:14 pm

“Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn of the violent attack in Sydney, and he sends the assurance of his spiritual closeness to all affected,” the message said.

German police cars (file image) Mike Baumeister via Unsplah (CC0)

Germany thwarts terror plot: Teenage suspects reportedly planned attacks on churches

Apr 12, 2024 / 14:00 pm

The Düsseldorf public prosecutor’s office revealed that the suspects, between 15 and 16 years old, were apprehended over the Easter weekend.

Archbishop Georg Gänswein and Pope Francis on St. Peter’s Square, May 21, 2014. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

From papal secretary to nuncio? Report of a diplomatic role for Gänswein unconfirmed

Apr 12, 2024 / 10:25 am

While speculation is again running rife on social media about Archbishop Georg Gänswein’s next role, neither he nor the Vatican have confirmed a nuncio posting.

null Credit: Brian A Jackson / Shutterstock

Report: Society of St. Pius X priest admits to years of sexual misconduct with minors

Apr 11, 2024 / 06:45 am

“I ask for forgiveness from the victims and deeply regret everything I have done,” the priest said.

A smoker in Leipzig, Germany. (Photo from 2018.) Credit: Tobias Tullius / Unsplash (CC0))

Catholic Church highlights concerns regarding Germany’s cannabis legalization

Apr 2, 2024 / 11:15 am

Germany legalized the recreational use of cannabis on Monday, April 1, but the debate over the contentious legislation is far from over.

Jean’s journey into the Catholic Church was propelled by an earnest desire to align himself with the apostolic tradition, a lineage he felt was absent in his previous religious experiences. Credit: YouTube screenshot/Säule und Fundament (Pillar and Foundation)

YouTuber finds faith: from evangelical roots to Catholic conviction

Apr 2, 2024 / 07:00 am

A YouTuber disillusioned with his experience in an Austrian evangelical Protestant environment has found a spiritual family and home in the Catholic Church.

Asian elephant. Credit: Filiz Elaerts / Unsplash (CC0)

Despite Church warnings, tigers and elephants threaten lives in Kerala, India

Mar 27, 2024 / 13:00 pm

The Catholic Church in Kerala has been leading the charge in urging the government to take decisive action to protect human lives.

View of the Vatican from the Tiber Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Synodal standoff: German bishops and Vatican commit to resolution roadmap

Mar 23, 2024 / 05:30 am

The Vatican and the German bishops have announced they will work together to resolve the controversial German Synodal Way. 

Pope Francis on March 21, 2024, laicized Bishop Emeritus of Bruges, Belgium, Roger Vangheluwe (center), years after the former prelate admitted to repeatedly sexually abusing his nephew when the latter was a minor. Credit: Carolus, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Pope Francis laicizes Belgian ex-bishop and abuser Roger Vangheluwe

Mar 22, 2024 / 09:40 am

The apostolic nunciature to Belgium said in a statement on Thursday that “serious new elements” had come to light regarding Vangheluwe.

German bishops in Rome on Nov. 17, 2022. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

German bishops to discuss Synodal Way with Vatican amid controversy

Mar 21, 2024 / 07:00 am

A delegation of German bishops is expected in Rome this Friday for talks with the Vatican about the German Synodal Way. 

Bishop Erik Varden, OCSO, a Trappist monk and spiritual writer, has served as bishop of Trondheim in Norway since 2020. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Norwegian bishop celebrates Nordic country’s first Catholic Bible

Mar 18, 2024 / 11:30 am

“The publication of a Bible presented and packaged as ‘The Catholic Canon’ by the Norwegian Bible Society is a major ecumenical event,” Bishop Erik Varden said.

The new Norwegian translation of the Bible, published March 15, 2024. Credit: Norwegian Bible Society

A milestone for unity: First Norwegian Catholic Bible edition launched

Mar 15, 2024 / 14:00 pm

For the first time in Norway’s history, the Norwegian Bible Society has announced the publication of a Catholic edition of the Bible.

Cardinal John Dew in 2016. Credit: Screenshot / YouTube / Responsibility

New Zealand Cardinal Dew denies allegations amid Vatican investigation into alleged abuse

Mar 7, 2024 / 10:25 am

The inquiry was launched after a police investigation concluded without charges.

A mother and child Credit: Jordan Whitt / Unsplash

Ireland at a crossroads: Redefining family, motherhood on the ballot

Mar 5, 2024 / 09:25 am

Proposed changes to the Irish Constitution would abolish “all reference to motherhood,” Ireland’s bishops argue.

An illustration of the topic of Thomas Aquinas and AI created by DALL-E, a text-to-image model native to ChatGPT. Credit: DALL-E/OpenAI

What would Thomas Aquinas make of AI?

Feb 20, 2024 / 06:00 am

According to one German theologian, the Catholic saint and doctor of the Church can contribute to contemporary discussions about AI’s risks and role in society. 

The cross of the German “Synodal Way.” Credit: Maximilian von Lachner/Synodaler Weg

German Catholics ask bishops to reconsider Synodal Way plans

Feb 15, 2024 / 13:00 pm

Ahead of a high-stakes gathering of the German bishops next Monday, a lay group warned the prelates of moving “further away from the people of God.”

St. Matthew Catholic Church appears gutted by fire, allegedly set by government soldiers, in eastern Myanmar on June 15, 2022. Credit: Screenshot from KNDF Facebook video

Aid group warns of violence against Christians, sees glimmer of hope in Myanmar

Feb 15, 2024 / 08:00 am

A humanitarian aid group has warned of a rise in violence against the persecuted Christian minority amid the bloody civil war in Myanmar.