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

Altar servers. Credit: Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

German AfD party member challenges removal from church volunteer positions

Jul 25, 2024 / 10:51 am

The decision, supported by the Archdiocese of Paderborn, has sparked controversy and will likely lead to legal challenges.

Bishop Richard Umbers. Credit: Archdiocese of Sydney

Australian bishop hails U.S. Eucharistic Congress as model for global Catholic renewal

Jul 23, 2024 / 09:27 am

The Sydney auxiliary bishop, observing the Indianapolis event, sees it as inspiration for Australia’s hosting of the 2028 International Eucharistic Congress.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Credit: Jorge Lascar via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Crusader treasure unveiled: Medieval altar found in Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulcher

Jul 17, 2024 / 14:05 pm

The groundbreaking discovery sheds new light on Crusader history, medieval Christian art, and the enduring significance of one of Christianity’s holiest sites.

Archbishop Georg Gänswein was the personal secretary of the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Credit: Bohumil Petrík

Archbishop Gänswein on Baltic appointment: Ready for ‘the front’

Jul 16, 2024 / 09:35 am

Archbishop Georg Gänswein discussed his new role as Vatican nuncio to the Baltic states amid the war in Ukraine in a recent EWTN News interview.

Heads of state pose for a group photo during the NATO 75th anniversary celebratory event at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium on July 9, 2024, in Washington, D.C. Credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Analysis: NATO summit highlights divergent views on European defense, future

Jul 12, 2024 / 12:10 pm

The NATO summit, held July 10–11 in Washington, D.C., marked the 75th anniversary of the world’s most powerful military alliance.

Smoke billows from the spire of Rouen Cathedral in Rouen, northern France, on July 11, 2024. Credit: PATRICK STREIFF/AFP via Getty Images

Firefighters quell blaze at French cathedral

Jul 11, 2024 / 10:10 am

Rouen Mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol confirmed the incident on social media, sharing an image showing smoke rising from the cathedral’s spire.

The front of the Phat Diem Cathedral, Vietnam. Credit: Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

11 Vietnamese Christians missing from detention amid religious freedom concerns

Jul 10, 2024 / 10:03 am

A report released July 5 claims the missing individuals were sentenced between 2011 and 2016 to a combined total of 90 years and eight months in prison.

The German Parliament building in Berlin. Credit: canadastock/Shutterstock

‘Black day for democracy’: German pro-lifers condemn ‘censorship zones’

Jul 8, 2024 / 13:30 pm

The proposed Pregnancy Conflict Act claims to protect pregnant women from what supporters call “sidewalk harassment” by pro-life activists.

The Catholic Cathedral of Limburg in Hesse, Germany. Credit: Mylius via Wikimedia (GFDL 1.2)

400,000 Germans quit Catholic Church as talks between Vatican, Synodal Way continue

Jul 1, 2024 / 09:45 am

The meeting on Friday resulted in Rome demanding the Germans change the name of the body and agree it cannot have authority over the bishops’ conference.

Archbishop Carlo Vigano. Credit: Edward Pentin/National Catholic Register

Former U.S. nuncio Viganò to undergo Church trial for schism, rejecting Pope Francis 

Jun 20, 2024 / 14:19 pm

“I have been summoned to the Palace of the Holy Office on June 20, in person or represented by a canon lawyer,” Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò wrote on X.

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

German Catholics write letter to Rome over Synodal Way, warn of ‘serious scandal’

Jun 13, 2024 / 12:00 pm

A Catholic committee has turned to the Vatican in an attempt to avoid a permanent Synodal Council to oversee the Church in Germany.

A man receives his ballot for the European elections in a polling station in The Hague on June 6, 2024, on the first day of the European Parliament election. Credit: Nick Gammon/AFP via Getty Images

Bishops urge EU leaders to tackle voter disillusionment following elections

Jun 11, 2024 / 14:45 pm

The bishops’ commission underscored the pressing issue of persistent voter disengagement and the alarming rise of nationalist, Euroskeptic parties.

Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda was named president of the Polish bishops’ conference on March 14, 2024. Credit: Silar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Amid abortion debate, Polish bishops urge protection of the unborn

Jun 11, 2024 / 09:30 am

A letter issued by the bishops on the protection of life comes amid growing pressure from lawmakers to dismantle Poland’s strong pro-life protections.

Cardinals Christoph Schönborn and Gerhard Ludwig Müller. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Cardinals Müller and Schönborn: Ordination of women is impossible

Jun 10, 2024 / 13:45 pm

The two German-speaking cardinals have said publicly that only men can be ordained to the priesthood.

Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney, Australia. Credit: EWTN News

Archbishop warns of religious freedom erosion in Australia, calls for ‘saints for our time’

Jun 10, 2024 / 06:00 am

Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher raised the alarm over Australia’s incremental erosion of religious freedom and called for committed action.

Bishop Rob Mutsaerts, auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of ’s-Hertogenbosch, in the Netherlands. Credit: Danny Gerrits/wikiportret.nl via Wikimedia (CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Dutch bishop: Fiducia Supplicans too much ‘in tune with zeitgeist’

Jun 7, 2024 / 16:45 pm

Auxiliary Bishop Rob Mutsaerts of the Netherlands warned: “Peace at the expense of morality and truth” is a “most merciless peace imaginable.”

Cardinal John Atcherley Dew on Feb. 14, 2015, in Vatican City. Credit: Franco Origlia/Getty Images

Vatican clears New Zealand Cardinal John Dew of abuse allegations

Jun 5, 2024 / 09:15 am

The allegation of historical sexual abuse had been raised against Dew around the time he retired as archbishop of Wellington in May 2023.

null Credit: Sam Tanno/Shutterstock

Netherlands permits euthanasia for physically healthy 29-year-old woman

Jun 4, 2024 / 09:45 am

Despite being physically healthy, the woman from Oldenzaal, a town near the German border, chose to end her life due to mental health issues.

Statue of St. Peter in front of St. Peter's Basilica. Credit: Vatican Media

Catholic doctors, ethicists criticize Pontifical Academy for Life

May 31, 2024 / 09:47 am

Experts argue that a book published by the Pontifical Academy book spreads “misleading and confusing” theological and medical information.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the103rd German Catholic Convention on May 29, 2024, in Erfurt, Germany. Credit: Filip Singer - Pool/Getty Images

German president laments Church’s diminished role at ‘Catholics Day’

May 30, 2024 / 15:15 pm

Both Pope Francis and the German president addressed participants at the national Catholic event underway this week.