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

The opening of the Synod for the Family at the Vatican on Oct. 5, 2015. Vatican Media.

Vatican’s Synod on Synodality organizers say synod is ‘fruit’ of Second Vatican Council

Oct 10, 2022 / 05:20 am

In a message marking the 60th anniversary of Vatican II’s opening, the general secretariat of the Synod on Synodality called the event “one of its most precious legacies.”

Bishop Valerio Lazzeri speaking in a video message for Easter, April 2022 Diocesi di Lugano via YouTube / Screenshot

Swiss bishop resigns at age 59 due to ‘inner fatigue’

Oct 10, 2022 / 04:41 am

“I tell you this with an open heart: I can no longer imagine being in the position I have tried to hold until now.”

Andrew Thorburn (seen here in a 2015 photo), a former Australian banking executive and current chairman of church affiliated with the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, stepped down Oct. 4, 2022, one day after being appointed chief executive of an Australian rules football club due to public backlash. Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images

Christians excluded from Australian sports? Bishops raise alarm after exec resigns

Oct 7, 2022 / 10:14 am

One day after being appointed chief executive of an Australian rules football club, Andrew Thorburn stepped down from the role following a public backlash.

Credit: © L’Osservatore Romano Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican City on August 28, 2010.

French Jesuit and American legal scholar win 2022 Ratzinger Prize

Oct 7, 2022 / 03:01 am

A French Jesuit and an American legal scholar were named the recipients of this year’s Ratzinger prize on Friday.

Pope Francis prays on St. Peter's Square, Oct. 5, 2022 Daniel Ibáñez / CNA

Pope Francis mourns 23 children and several adults killed in Thailand day care attack

Oct 7, 2022 / 02:31 am

Pope Francis has expressed deep sorrow at the news of a deadly rampage at a day care center in Thailand that left more than 30 people dead — 23 of them children.

Bishop Georg Bätzing (left) and Cardinal Kurt Koch Maximilian von Lachner / Synodaler Weg // Paul Badde / EWTN

Public spat between German bishop, Swiss cardinal leads to private meeting in Rome

Oct 5, 2022 / 06:46 am

Following demands for an apology and a threat he would “file an official complaint with the Holy Father,” the German Bishops’ Conference president met with a Vatican cardinal in Rome this week.

European Court. Elvira Koneva / Shutterstock.

Belgium violated right to life in euthanasia case, European Court of Human Rights rules

Oct 4, 2022 / 08:53 am

The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday ruled that Belgium failed to conduct a proper investigation into the circumstances of the 2012 euthanasia of Godelieva de Troyer on the grounds of “untreatable depression.” 

The Cathedral Church of St. Barnabas in Nottingham, England, U.K. Kevin George/Shutterstock

Gothic Revival reborn: Nottingham Cathedral receives grant to ‘Restore Pugin’

Oct 3, 2022 / 14:01 pm

Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin’s design of St. Barnabas Cathedral in Nottingham, England, is to be restored and brought back to life.

Tom Mortier ADF International

Europe’s top human rights court to rule on landmark euthanasia case

Oct 3, 2022 / 06:30 am

The European Court of Human Rights is set to rule in a landmark case on Tuesday on whether Belgium wrongly allowed a woman to be euthanized. 

Pope Francis Vatican Media

Pope Francis recognizes the ‘countless acts of kindess and charity’ of Stella Maris, Apostleship of the Sea

Oct 3, 2022 / 04:50 am

Pope Francis has recognized the role of Stella Maris, the Apostleship of the Sea — the largest ship-visiting network in the world.

Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square, Sept. 28, 2022 Pablo Esparza / CNA

Let your beauty shine, Pope Francis tells young people

Sep 30, 2022 / 09:00 am

Pope Francis on Friday told young people to let their true beauty shine, the beauty that is a reflection of divine beauty. 

Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, in Rome on Oct. 23, 2019. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA. null

Vatican cardinal says he did not compare German Synodal Way to Nazi ideology

Sep 29, 2022 / 22:07 pm

A Vatican cardinal has defended himself against the accusation by the president of the German bishops’ conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, of making a “totally unacceptable gaffe” over remarks regarding the German Synodal Way.

St. Michael the Archangel Credit: Pixabay

Supporters of statue of St. Michael the Archangel in small French town vow to fight removal order

Sep 29, 2022 / 01:30 am

After a French court confirmed the removal of a statue of St. Michael from a seaside town, supporters have vowed to continue their fight.

Bishop Georg Bätzing Photo credit: Synodaler Weg / Maximilian von Lachner

Religion is ‘interruption,’ not continuity, German bishops’ president says

Sep 27, 2022 / 12:33 pm

Bishop Georg Bätzing spoke in a live-streamed Mass on Tuesday on the occasion of the bishops’ plenary assembly in Dulda, Germany, Sept. 26–29.

Our Lady Queen of Peace Cathedral in Broome, Australia. null

Vatican opens canonical investigation into Australian bishop

Sep 26, 2022 / 07:05 am

The Vatican has appointed Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane to oversee an investigation into former Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders.

null Syda Productions/Shutterstock

Bishops in Belgium defy Vatican, publish ceremony for blessing same-sex unions

Sep 20, 2022 / 06:27 am

In open defiance of the Vatican, Catholic bishops in Belgium on Tuesday announced the introduction of blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples. 

King Charles III walks alongside the coffin carrying Queen Elizabeth II with the Imperial State Crown resting on top as it departs Westminster Abbey during the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 19, 2022, in London. Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Sept. 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Catholic prayers for Queen Elizabeth II — and the new king

Sep 19, 2022 / 07:24 am

While millions bid final farewell to Queen Elizabeth II today, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales have commented on the death of Her Majesty.

Pope Francis speaking at the Seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Nur-Sultan (Astana), Kazakhstan, Sept. 13–15, 2022. Vatican Media

A ‘supermarket of religions,’ God’s will, and the wisdom of a tweaked declaration

Sep 16, 2022 / 07:52 am

A sensitive passage in the final declaration of the congress that brought Pope Francis to Kazakhstan Sept. 13–15 appears to have been changed after it found the approval of attendants.

The European Parliament building in Brussels, Belgium. Ala z via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).

European Parliament condemns growing repression of Catholic Church in Nicaragua, calls for release of bishop

Sep 16, 2022 / 05:08 am

The resolution, passed Sept. 15, criticized the arbitrary “arrest of Bishop Rolando Álvarez” and called “for his and others’ immediate and unconditional release.”

Bishop Georg Bätzing, Irme Stetter-Karp, Bischop Franz-Josef Bode at the “Synodal Way” meeting on Sept. 9 2022 in Frankfurt, Germany. Synodaler Weg / Maximilian von Lachner

Turbulent scenes and votes for homosexuality, women’s ordination at German Synodal Way

Sep 12, 2022 / 10:00 am

The three-day event was overshadowed by turbulent scenes and early departures over the handling of contentious issues.