Germany: Pope to Meet Victims of Abuse, Vatican Insider, September 19, 2011

Germany: Pope to Meet Victims of Abuse

Vatican Insider
September 19, 2011

http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/world-news/detail/articolo/germania-germany-alemania-8156/

GERMANY

The news was revealed by the 'Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung' although it is still not known at what stage of the visit the meeting will take place

During his four day visit to Germany Benedict XVI will meet the victims of sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests. This is according to the 'Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung' (Faz) even though it is not yet known at which stage of the Pope's visit this meeting will take place.

Faz also said that the parliamentarian ecologists who will be present at the Bundestag on Thursday afternoon to listen to the Pope's speech will wear the Red AIDS Ribbon. While confirming the absence of a hundred ministers from the Social Democratic, Greens and Linke parties, out of a total of 620 members, 'Der Spiegel' said that their places will be taken up by former parliamentarians so as not to show any empty seats during the television filming.

The Hamburg weekly also published a survey from which it emerged that from 1990 to 2010 the number of Catholics in Germany dropped by 12.7% for a new total of 2.6 million people, marriages taking place in the Church have collapsed by 58.3%, with a decrease of 43.1% in baptisms and a further decrease of 62.1% in those choosing the priesthood as a vocation. 36% of Germans are satisfied with the Pope's work, while 32% are unsatisfied and 21% said they are indifferent. 47% of those surveyed said they approved the Pope's visit to the Bundestag, while 45% are against it. 87% of Germans are against celibacy for priests, with only 6% in favour, 88% are in favour of female priests (6% are against), 87% of those surveyed oppose the condemnation of homosexuality by the Church in Rome (9% support it), while 77% are convinced that the Catholic authorities have not reacted as they should have regarding sexual abuses carried out by priests, while17% support the Church's conduct.

The 'Spiegel' survey highlighted that half of Germans (50%) would like to see the Church's influence lessen in politics and in German society, with 37% who consider it correct and 8% who would like to see it increase.