German bishops

The Latest

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, Archbishop of Cologne.

German bishops ask Vatican for clarity on Holy Communion

Apr 4, 2018

Seven German bishops have written to the Vatican, asking for clarification on the question of Protestant spouses of Catholics receiving... Read more

Frankfurt Church leader supports plan for same-sex blessings

Jan 24, 2018

A German bishop’s proposal that the Catholic Church could provide blessing ceremonies for gay couples, as well as divorced and... Read more

Blue light of a police car.

Bishops mourn victims of deadly truck detour on Berlin Christmas market

Dec 20, 2016

By Elise Harris

After 12 people were killed when a truck rammed into crowds at a Berlin Christmas market, the German bishops have... Read more

Archbishop Georg Gänswein at the Vatican Press Conference presenting the CD Cantate Domino by Sistine Chapel on Sept. 29, 2015.

Archbishop Ganswein calls German Church Tax 'a serious problem'

Jul 18, 2016

Archbishop Georg Ganswein has criticized the German Church Tax process, calling its handling of people opting out of the controversial... Read more

Cardinal Marx at the German Bishops' press conference at the Teutonic College on October 5, 2015.

After week of silence, German bishops respond to Cologne attacks

Jan 11, 2016

A week after hundreds were attacked in Cologne on New Year’s Eve, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising... Read more

Regensburg Cathedral.

Regensburg bishop breaks with fellow Germans to oppose 'gender theory'

Dec 17, 2015

The Bishop of Regensburg spoke out against “gender theory” in a homily recently made available in English – chastising the... Read more

Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of Denver gives a catechesis session during World Youth Day in Rio July 25, 2013.

Denver archbishop: Would German bishops side with Henry VIII or Thomas More?

Oct 20, 2015

If divorced-and-remarried Catholics should receive communion, as Cardinal Walter Kasper and many of the German bishops suggest, does that mean... Read more

For German bishops mercy comes at a price, critics charge

Oct 19, 2015

As controversy continues to swirl around proposals by the German bishops at the Synod on the Family, the German bishops... Read more

Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University, where the May 25 secretive gathering was held.

'Shadow council' speaker pushes Church acceptance of contraception, gay sex

Jul 29, 2015

By Andrea Gagliarducci

Yes to contraception, homosexual acts, and Communion for the divorced and remarried – all considering the circumstances. No to understanding... Read more

Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, one of the leaders of the secretive May 25 meeting, at the Holy See press office, Oct. 17, 2014.

Why did most of the journalists at the 'shadow council' fail to report on it?

Jun 4, 2015

Since only one quarter of the media representatives present at last week's closed-door meeting of German, French, and Swiss bishops... Read more

Cardinal Reinhard Marx at the Vatican Press Office on Oct. 17, 2014.

German bishops change labor laws to allow divorced and remarried, gay civil unions

May 12, 2015

By Carl Bunderson

Last week, the German bishops’ conference announced it is changing its labor laws such that contracting a civil marriage after... Read more

Cardinals talk after the consistory on November 24, 2012 in St. Peter's Basilica.

German prelate breaks rank with Cardinal Marx, insists on fidelity to Rome

Mar 24, 2015

A German cardinal has publicly opposed the words of two other German bishops who have suggested that the nation’s Church... Read more

Morning-after pills all have abortive potential, doctor says

Feb 22, 2013

The reasoning offered by the German Catholic bishops for allowing the morning-after pill in rape cases is being faulted for... Read more

Dr. Justo Aznar speaks with CNA on Feb. 22, 2013 during his visit to Rome for the Pontifical Academy for Life's general assembly at the Vatican.

Doctor calls German bishops misled on morning-after pill

Feb 22, 2013

A leading Catholic doctor in Spain says he will write a letter to Germany's bishops to help correct what he... Read more

Latest news

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Committee on Appropriations at the U.S. Capitol on June 23, 2025, in Washington, D.C.

U.S. attorney general confirms investigation into ‘DC Five’ aborted babies

The work of Association Meter, an organization that combats online pedophilia, was featured on “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly.”

International monitoring organization reports pedophilic videos online have tripled

Mass at a cathedral in Nagasaki, Japan, after the U.S. dropped a nuclear weapon on the city in August of 1945. The Japanese bishops asked for international nuclear disarmament in a June 20, 2025, letter.

Japan bishops on nuclear bombs: ‘This tragedy must not be repeated’

The pontiff warned of the risk of a superficial spiritual life “in an age of hyperconnectivity” in which it becomes increasingly “difficult to experience silence and solitude,” emphasizing that without an encounter with God, “we cannot even truly know ourselves.”

Pope Leo XIV invites seminarians to bear witness to ‘tenderness’ and ‘mercy’ of Christ

Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta.

Atlanta hospital ensures Catholic identity through new sponsorship agreement

The scene outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., after the court released its decision in the Dobbs abortion case on June 24, 2022.

Catholic bishops on Dobbs anniversary: ‘The battle for life is far from over’

Over 3,000 Catholics filled the streets of Portland, Oregon, on Sunday, June 22, 2025, for a major Eucharistic procession led by Archbishop Alexander Sample.

Over 3,000 Catholics fill Portland, Oregon, streets for Eucharistic procession

Pope Leo XIV waves to those gathered for Mass on the solemnity of Corpus Christi on Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Rome.

Pope Leo XIV ‘deeply saddened’ by Islamist attack on a church in Damascus

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, in an interview with ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, emphasized that the Catholic Church in the Holy Land must remain “open”: “The Church must remain open and accessible to all. This is absolutely essential. Everyone must be able to reach us, we must be a point of connection for everyone.”

Cardinal Pizzaballa in the Holy Land: ‘The Church must be a point of connection for everyone’

Seminarian Thomas Hammen smiles in view of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on Tuesday. June 24, 2025.

Meet the future of the Church: Seminarians gather in Rome for jubilee

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Jun 24
The Nativity of St. John the Baptist
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