Latest news with #GermanCatholics
DW
24-07-2025
- Politics
- DW
Germany updates: Munich Airport plans deportation terminal – DW – 07/24/2025
Germany's second-largest largest airport is reportedly planning a "repatriation terminal" to process migrant deportations. Meanwhile, German Catholics have criticized the humanitarian situation in Gaza. DW has Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) said on Thursday that it was "appalled" by the suffering being endured by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and called on the German government to ensure the enforcement of international law. "The humanitarian situation for the civilian population in Gaza is catastrophic," ZdK President Irme Stetter-Karp told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). While acknowledging that Israel "has a legitimate right to defend itself against the terrorist organization Hamas," she said that didn't absolve the Israeli government from its responsibility to respect international law. Stetter-Karp also said Israel's military operations were impacting the civilian population to an "unjustifiable" extent and highlighted the acute threat of starvation, illness and death facing children in the besieged enclave. "We are aghast that 875 Palestinians have been killed while trying to access aid at the distribution centers in Gaza," she said. "This approach by the Israeli government must end immediately!" Stetter-Karp also highlighted the plight of Palestinian Christians in the occupied West Bank, who she said were increasingly the targets of Israeli settler violence. Germany's second-largest airport is reportedly planning to construct a special deportation terminal in which police will process the repatriation of migrants to be deported. According to a planning document seen by the Reuters news agency, the so-called "repatriation terminal" at Munich Airport is to be around 60 meters long and spread over two floors. The facility, which is designed to facilitate "up to 100 arrivals and departures processing up to 50 individual measures and group charter flights daily," is planned for 2028 and will also include a "central check-in in order to coordinate repatriations efficiently," according to the document. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, both of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), have taken a strong stance on deportations of migrants with criminal convictions or rejected asylum claims. Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter, of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), said the deportation of those convicted of crimes to their home countries was a sensible measure. "Therefore I don't think it's fundamentally wrong to propose such a terminal," he said. But political support is not universal. Local Green Party politician Gülseren Demirel told the broadsheet: "We are more than critical of a specific terminal for deportations." Welcome to DW's coverage of developments in Germany on Thursday, July 24. Despite Germany's dramatic defeat in the Euro 2025 semifinal last night, we all have to carry on, so here's what's on the agenda today:
DW
24-07-2025
- Politics
- DW
Germany updates: Munich Airport planning deporation terminal – DW – 07/24/2025
Germany's second-largest largest airport is reportedly planning a "repatriation terminal" to process migrant deportations. Meanwhile, German Catholics have criticized the humanitarian situation in Gaza. DW has more. Welcome to DW's coverage of developments in Germany on Thursday, July 24. Despite Germany's dramatic defeat in the Euro 2025 semifinal last night, we all have to carry on, so here's what's on the agenda today:
AsiaOne
10-05-2025
- Business
- AsiaOne
What's in the new pope's in-tray: Financial woes, doctrinal rows, World News
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV, the 267th leader of the global Catholic Church and the first US pontiff, will face a number of major challenges following his surprise election on Thursday (May 8). Here is a quick rundown. Budget woes The Vatican, despite the late Pope Francis' cost-cutting efforts and financial management reforms, faces an 83-million-euro (S$121 million) budget shortfall, two knowledgeable sources have told Reuters, and a much larger funding gap in its pension fund. The pension shortfall was estimated to total some 631 million euros by the Vatican's finance czar in 2022. There has been no official update to this figure, but several insiders told Reuters they believe it has ballooned. Faith crisis in Europe While the total number of Catholics, as measured by the number of baptised, keeps increasing and has surpassed the 1.4 billion mark, mostly thanks to growth in Africa, Church attendance and priestly vocations are dwindling in Europe. In Germany, the EU's most populous nation, the national bishops' conference reported earlier this year that only 29 new priests had been ordained in the country in 2024, an historic low. They also said around 321,000 German Catholics had left the Church that year. The total number of Catholics in Germany, whose population of 83 million was once about half Catholic, is now under 20 million. Divorcees, LGBT, women Under Francis, tensions between traditionalists and modernisers erupted over whether the Church should be more welcoming towards the LGBT community and divorcees, and let women play a greater role in church affairs. Francis did not formally change church doctrine, but opened the door to communion for divorcees and blessings for same-sex couples, although he did not allow a relaxation of priestly celibacy rules or the ordination of women deacons. The debate over whether to consolidate, expand or roll back these reforms is likely to continue in the coming years, if not decades, forcing the new pope into some sort of balancing act between opposing demands. Child abuse The new pope is destined to continue grappling with the scandal of clerical sex abuse and its cover up, which has dogged the global Catholic Church for at least three decades, seriously undermining its standing. Francis and his predecessor Benedict XVI committed themselves to a policy of zero tolerance, but their reforms have delivered at best partial results, with uneven implementation across different continents. Diplomacy Argentine Francis, the first pope from the so-called Global South, was not afraid to use his moral pulpit to ruffle Western feathers. He spearheaded a controversial Vatican deal with China on the appointment of bishops, had fraught relations with Israel over the war in Gaza, and at times appeared to urge Ukraine to give up on its war of defence against Russia. He was a vocal campaigner for action on climate change and a critic of tough European and US immigration policies, putting himself at odds with US President Donald Trump after he called Trump's plans to deport millions of migrants a disgrace. Will the new pope be willing to continue in the same vein? ALSO READ: Prevost, first US pope, supported Francis and shunned spotlight
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Factbox-What's in the new pope's in-tray: financial woes, doctrinal rows
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Leo XIV, the 267th leader of the global Catholic Church and the first U.S. pontiff, will face a number of major challenges following his surprise election on Thursday. Here is a quick rundown. BUDGET WOES The Vatican, despite the late Pope Francis' cost-cutting efforts and financial management reforms, faces an 83-million-euro ($94.22 million) budget shortfall, two knowledgeable sources have told Reuters, and a much larger funding gap in its pension fund. The pension shortfall was estimated to total some 631 million euros by the Vatican's finance czar in 2022. There has been no official update to this figure, but several insiders told Reuters they believe it has ballooned. FAITH CRISIS IN EUROPE While the total number of Catholics, as measured by the number of baptised, keeps increasing and has surpassed the 1.4 billion mark, mostly thanks to growth in Africa, Church attendance and priestly vocations are dwindling in Europe. In Germany, the EU's most populous nation, the national bishops' conference reported earlier this year that only 29 new priests had been ordained in the country in 2024, an historic low. They also said around 321,000 German Catholics had left the Church that year. The total number of Catholics in Germany, whose population of 83 million was once about half Catholic, is now under 20 million. DIVORCEES, LGBT, WOMEN Under Francis, tensions between traditionalists and modernisers erupted over whether the Church should be more welcoming towards the LGBT community and divorcees, and let women play a greater role in church affairs. Francis did not formally change church doctrine, but opened the door to communion for divorcees and blessings for same-sex couples, although he did not allow a relaxation of priestly celibacy rules or the ordination of women deacons. The debate over whether to consolidate, expand or roll back these reforms is likely to continue in the coming years, if not decades, forcing the new pope into some sort of balancing act between opposing demands. CHILD ABUSE The new pope is destined to continue grappling with the scandal of clerical sex abuse and its cover up, which has dogged the global Catholic Church for at least three decades, seriously undermining its standing. Francis and his predecessor Benedict XVI committed themselves to a policy of zero tolerance, but their reforms have delivered at best partial results, with uneven implementation across different continents. DIPLOMACY Argentine Francis, the first pope from the so-called Global South, was not afraid to use his moral pulpit to ruffle Western feathers. He spearheaded a controversial Vatican deal with China on the appointment of bishops, had fraught relations with Israel over the war in Gaza, and at times appeared to urge Ukraine to give up on its war of defence against Russia. He was a vocal campaigner for action on climate change and a critic of tough European and U.S. immigration policies, putting himself at odds with U.S. President Donald Trump after he called Trump's plans to deport millions of migrants a disgrace. Will the new pope be willing to continue in the same vein? ($1 = 0.8809 euros)
Reuters
08-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
What's in the new pope's in-tray: financial woes, doctrinal rows
VATICAN CITY, May 8 (Reuters) - Pope Leo XIV, the 267th leader of the global Catholic Church and the first U.S. pontiff, will face a number of major challenges following his surprise election on Thursday. Here is a quick rundown. The Vatican, despite the late Pope Francis' cost-cutting efforts and financial management reforms, faces an 83-million-euro ($94.22 million) budget shortfall, two knowledgeable sources have told Reuters, and a much larger funding gap in its pension fund. The pension shortfall was estimated to total some 631 million euros by the Vatican's finance czar in 2022. There has been no official update to this figure, but several insiders told Reuters they believe it has ballooned. While the total number of Catholics, as measured by the number of baptised, keeps increasing and has surpassed the 1.4 billion mark, mostly thanks to growth in Africa, Church attendance and priestly vocations are dwindling in Europe. In Germany, the EU's most populous nation, the national bishops' conference reported earlier this year that only 29 new priests had been ordained in the country in 2024, an historic low. They also said around 321,000 German Catholics had left the Church that year. The total number of Catholics in Germany, whose population of 83 million was once about half Catholic, is now under 20 million. Under Francis, tensions between traditionalists and modernisers erupted over whether the Church should be more welcoming towards the LGBT community and divorcees, and let women play a greater role in church affairs. Francis did not formally change church doctrine, but opened the door to communion for divorcees and blessings for same-sex couples, although he did not allow a relaxation of priestly celibacy rules or the ordination of women deacons. The debate over whether to consolidate, expand or roll back these reforms is likely to continue in the coming years, if not decades, forcing the new pope into some sort of balancing act between opposing demands. The new pope is destined to continue grappling with the scandal of clerical sex abuse and its cover up, which has dogged the global Catholic Church for at least three decades, seriously undermining its standing. Francis and his predecessor Benedict XVI committed themselves to a policy of zero tolerance, but their reforms have delivered at best partial results, with uneven implementation across different continents. Argentine Francis, the first pope from the so-called Global South, was not afraid to use his moral pulpit to ruffle Western feathers. He spearheaded a controversial Vatican deal with China on the appointment of bishops, had fraught relations with Israel over the war in Gaza, and at times appeared to urge Ukraine to give up on its war of defence against Russia. He was a vocal campaigner for action on climate change and a critic of tough European and U.S. immigration policies, putting himself at odds with U.S. President Donald Trump after he called Trump's plans to deport millions of migrants a disgrace. Will the new pope be willing to continue in the same vein? ($1 = 0.8809 euros)
