The Catholic Church in Germany, shaken by the abuse scandal, is continuing to shrink with more than half a million people quitting it last year. Most of the resignations occurred in the archdiocese of Cologne.
The wave of resignations from the Catholic Church in Germany has reached a record high. More than half a million people turned their backs on it in 2022 according to figures published by the German Bishops’ Conference in Bonn on Wednesday.
Membership of the Catholic Church now stands at 20.9 million, less than a quarter of the population. This has reinforced the trend that more than half of the German population no longer belongs to a church.
Departures
The 522,652 departures and 240,133 deaths stand against about 155,000 Catholic christenings last year. In addition, a total of 1,445 people joined the Church and 3,749 were readmitted to it.
The Protestant Church in Germany is also shrinking. According to data published in March, the number of members fell to 19.15 million.
Most resignations (51,345) were in the archdiocese of Cologne, which with 1,738,000 catholics remains the diocese with the most members.
The president of the German Bishops’ Conference, Georg Baetzing, called the figures alarming. “We must continue to take resolute action and the people must see that we stand by their side and are there for them,” he said. He warned against becoming resigned in view of the large number of departures.
*Originally reported by KNA Germany.
