Prominent German TV personality: Leaving the Church is socialist virtue signalling

Leaving the Church is "such the sort of gesture the German Socialist Party member makes".

Catholic Harald Schmidt remains faithful to his church

Leaving the Catholic Church? That's out of the question for entertainer Harald Schmidt. The faith is something different from the official church. In any case, far too much is thought from a German point of view.

The avowed Catholic Harald Schmidt (66) does not intend to leave his church. "No. We are a world church of 1.2 billion Catholics. People think far too much from a German perspective," Schmidt told the Hamburg weekly Die Zeit (online): "Leaving the official church, however, is for me - I say it with all love - such an SPD gesture. One sets a sign." He had not thought about leaving recently.

In response to a question about the abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Cologne, the TV entertainer and actor, who lives in the cathedral city, said, "For me, faith is something other than the official church. If you've ever been to church services in the Philippines, in South America, you know: that's something completely different than here, where transcendence and mysticism are lost." In recent weeks, Schmidt has increasingly been asked in interviews about daily and socio-political topics.

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