Majority of Germans and of Catholics think: Resignation of all German bishops is necessary.

44 percent think: All German bishops must resign

To solve the problem of sexual abuse in the Church, all German bishops should resign, 44 percent of Germans believe, according to a Tagespost poll.

A relative majority of 44 percent of Germans see the resignation of all German bishops as a prerequisite for finding a solution to the problem of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. This is the result of a representative survey conducted by the Erfurt-based opinion research institute "INSA Consulere" on behalf of the "Tagespost". Almost a third of the respondents (31 percent) are of the opposite opinion. Twenty-one per cent do not know where they stand on the question; another four per cent do not want to give a statement.

40 percent of Catholics think: Resignation of all bishops is necessary

The statement on which the participants of the survey were asked to take a stand is: "In my opinion, a prerequisite for solving the problem of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is that all German bishops resign." In the group of 30- to 39-year-olds, the proportion of those who consider a resignation of all German bishops to be necessary is highest, at 51 per cent. 18- to 29-year-olds are the least likely to agree with the statement (34 per cent). 

Among all religious or denominational groups, the percentage of those who consider the resignation of all German bishops necessary to find a solution to the problem of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is around the 40 percent mark. Of the Catholics surveyed, 40 percent state this, while 36 percent do not agree. Of Protestants, 41 percent agree with the thesis, while 33 percent also deny it. Of the free-church respondents, a relative majority of 39 percent also agree with the thesis, while 33 percent are of the opposite opinion.

The survey, which polled 2,004 adults from 21 to 24 April, also breaks down the question by party affiliation. AfD and FDP supporters most frequently express the view that all German bishops must resign in order to find a solution to the problem of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Among AfD supporters this is 52 percent, among FDP supporters 51 percent. Of Green and SPD voters, 48 percent each are of this opinion. In contrast, 41 percent of CDU/CSU supporters think that the resignation of all German bishops is necessary, and 42 percent of left-wing voters. 

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Cathcon: Very public penance is the solution to this, not synodality.