Jesuit on trial for blocking traffic to demonstrate against climate change

Priest criticises Bavarian state government

After street blockade: trial against Jesuit Father Alt has begun

Jesuit Jörg Alt had taken to the streets on 28 October 2022 to demonstrate against climate catastrophe.

A trial against the Nuremberg Jesuit Jörg Alt and two comrades-in-arms began on Wednesday at the Munich District Court for participation in a road blockade. The three climate protection activists are accused of coercion. The defendants, together with the group "Scientist Rebellion", had blocked a roadway in front of Munich's Palace of Justice on 28 October 2022, with the religious also sticking his hand into the road.

According to their own statement, they wanted to use the action to persuade politicians and society to take more decisive action against global warming. The blockade affected traffic for about 90 minutes. The police had to divert several vehicles around the Stachus by further blockades.

Father Alt invokes state of emergency

After the first day of the trial, the trial was suspended. The defence lawyers have applied to have two experts on climate and protest research testify as expert witnesses. A decision on this has not yet been made. A date of 16 May has been set for the continuation of the trial.

Father Alt invokes a state of emergency. All other forms of protest had failed, he said. The window of opportunity to prevent the dire consequences of global warming is closing. Brothers of his order from the global south, where the consequences are much more serious, had encouraged him to take this form of civil disobedience. At first, he was sceptical whether a road blockade in Germany would be a suitable means.

Priests outraged by state government

"The state government is forcing us to protest," the Jesuit said. "If the government would do its job, there would be no need for our actions." But in Bavaria, he said, more climate activists have been arrested so far than wind turbines erected. The priest expressed his indignation that scientists in Bavaria had been taken into preventive custody in this context. The legal basis for this, the police task law, had been enacted to prevent the worst crimes. Actions of civil disobedience were not included. 

With him on trial are a doctor of ecotrophology and a student of geo-ecology from Bayreuth. In their statements, the defendants emphasised that the German government continues to violate its own commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015.

The start of the trial was accompanied by a vigil of "Scientist Rebellion" in front of the court building, in which Father Alt also participated until shortly before the start of the trial. Two of his confreres followed the trial as spectators.

Source

Father Alt's curriculum vitae

1961 Born in Saarbrücken 

1981 Entered the Jesuit Order 

1993 Ordination to the Priesthood Academic Training 

1981 Abitur at the Albert Einstein Gymnasium 

1985 Bachelor in Philosophy, Hochschule für Philosophie, Munich 

1991 Bachelor of Divinity, Heythrop College, University of London, London (UK) 

2001 Master of Arts in Social Philosophy and Social Ethics, Hochschule für Philosophie, Munich 

2003 Dr. phil. in Sociology, Humboldt University, Berlin 

Selected Activities 

1986-1988 Serving refugees at the CARITAS office, Würzburg 

1995-1997 Coordinating German NGOs within the Campaign to Ban Landmines 

1997-1999 Researching the situation of undocumented migrants in Leipzig, Germany 

2000-2005 Researching the situation of undocumented migrants in Leipzig, Munich and Berlin, Germany 

2004/2005 Secretary of the Forum Leben in der Illegalität, Berlin, Germany 

2006-2008 Pastoral and research work in Punta Gorda, Belize, Central America 

2009-2012 Initiating and coordinating the Campaign for a Financial Transaction Tax/Robin Hood Tax 

Since 2010 University Chaplain, Nuremberg, Germany, responsible for research, networking and advocacy at the Jesuitenmission Office, Nuremberg 

Since 2012 Cooperation in the research and advocacy program “Tax Justice & Poverty” 

Distinctions 

1997 Co-Representing the International Campaign to Ban Landmines at the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony in Oslo, Norway 

2004 Augsburg Research Prize for Intercultural Studies