Pope’s Visit to Germany in September Promises Surprises
Sept. 06, 2011: Pope Benedict XVI will begin his first state visit to Germany
in three weeks. This apostolic voyage promises to be historic, challenging and potentially
very fruitful. The September 22-25 visit will include a trip to the German capital,
Berlin, followed by the towns of Erfurt and Freiburg in Breisgau. The Pope is to celebrate
an open air Mass in Berlin's Olympic Stadium, two more such Masses in Erfut and Freiburg,
and hold meetings with senior Church figures, seminarians, youth, and the country's
ecumenical and interreligious leaders. His visit will begin with a momentous address
to the Federal Parliament in the Reichstag. But although relatively short, the
trip will be challenging: Secularism has long taken hold in the Holy Father's homeland
with a minority of priests as well as laity openly expressing dissent from Church
teaching. The Church's woes have been compounded by the sexual abuse crisis that continues
to simmer across Germany. The effects of all of these have been dramatic. According
to the latest official Church figures, the number of German Catholics de-registering
themselves from their local Catholic church increased by almost 50% last year from1,24,000
people, up from 1,81,000. Jesuit Father Bernd Hagenkord, director of Vatican Radio's
German section, said that the perception of Joseph Ratzinger and the Church by the
Germans has remarkably changed over 30 years. Pope Benedict XVI is perceived today
as milder and more spiritual than he was before particularly during his latter years
as cardinal prefect at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.