Protestant church leadership in Germany do not give 100% backing to the March for Life. Christian Democrat politicians split.
Church representatives assess "March for Life" differently
Representatives of the two major churches have expressed different views on the "March for Life" on 16 September. It will take place in Berlin and, for the first time, in Cologne. The Federal Association for the Right to Life, as organiser, expects a total of about 7,000 participants.
The chairman of the (Catholic) German Bishops' Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing (Limburg), praised the march in a greeting. With this, the federal association "once again emphasises the protection of human life, especially when the right to life of the unborn, weak or terminally ill human being is questioned in science, politics or by other interest groups".
Bätzing refers to current developments in stem cell research, which has succeeded in artificially producing human embryos. Here it becomes clear how important the commitment to the value and dignity of human life is.
The Church is convinced that the life of every human being is a gift from God that must be protected from the beginning to the end. "It is therefore our duty to also publicly defend our position: Every human being has the right to life. For almost 30 years, we have therefore consistently campaigned for the protection of human life at all its stages in the 'Week for Life'."
Earlier, a number of other church representatives had already sent greetings, including the Bishop of Baden, Heike Springhart (Karlsruhe) and the Chairman of the Orthodox Bishops' Conference in Germany, Metropolitan Augoustinos (Bonn).
Cologne city superintendent warns of "climate of fear"
Bernhard Seiger, the Protestant city superintendent of Cologne, was critical. Although the Protestant Church is basically in favour of the protection of life, this also applies to unborn life, the life of a woman also has dignity. "Therefore, I doubt that a demonstration like the one planned captures the complex situation. I fear that it is more likely to lead to simplification and polarisation, which the very word 'march' suggests," Seiger explained on the website of the Protestant Church Association Cologne and Region.
He points out that Protestant agencies advise women in pregnancy conflicts in an open-ended manner. Seiger: "It is important that this protective space is maintained and that pressure and a climate of fear are not built up by a demonstration with polarisations and flat sentences."
Opponents of the March for Life, including queer-feminist alliances, have called for participation in counter-demonstrations. Looking at both sides in Cologne, Seiger writes: "I'm afraid that the planned demonstration and the counter-demonstration paint a black and white picture that doesn't correspond to the actual conflict situation."
Controversy in the Cologne CDU
There are also controversial opinions on the "March for Life" in the Cologne CDU. Chairman Karl Alexander Mandl had expressed support. He told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger that he considered the aims of the Bundesverband Lebensrecht (BVL) to be a justified concern and could imagine accompanying the "March for Life".
In response, 41 local CDU members - including several members of the council faction - wrote to Mandl demanding that he "clearly" distance himself from the march. The BVL was not about democratic debate, they said. "It is almost about radicalism along the lines of the American Tea Party," says the protest letter, which was obtained by the Kölnische Rundschau. A notice of the march on the website of the local CDU should also be removed.
See also German Protestants give up on Pro-Life work with Catholics
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