Extreme right wingers excluded from voluntary and full-time Church roles. Legal position uncertain

Canon lawyer criticizes the Münster diocese for inaction

Schüller: Bishops must also legally define the AfD exclusion

Anyone who publicly represents AfD positions cannot work in the church on a voluntary or full-time basis, say the Bishops. But there is a lack of legal certainty for consequences, says canon lawyer Thomas Schüller in an interview with Kirche+Leben. And he criticizes the Diocese of Münster.

The Catholic bishops unanimously expressed their position in a statement: Because of the Christian view of humanity, believers cannot vote for extremist parties; the AfD is explicitly mentioned. Anyone who publicly represents their positions cannot work in the church either full-time or on a voluntary basis. But what does this mean for those involved in church committees such as the parish council and church council?

This has not yet been regulated in the Diocese of Münster - and it looks as if it will stay that way. The 2017 statutes for parish councils do not contain any regulations; There are “currently no plans to add it,” said Anke Lucht from the Episcopal Press Office in response to a query from Church+Life. “Attitudes can hardly be created or promoted through statutes,” she says.

“Church labour law also assesses attitudes”

Thomas Schüller, professor of Catholic canon law at the University of Münster, criticised this in an interview with Kirche+Leben as a “pretextual argument for not taking action, even though one should.”

The canon lawyer refers to the basic order of Catholic labour law. The church in Germany has been assessing people's “attitudes” and whether they would be considered as church employees for decades and to this day.

What the basic order prohibits

The bishops' extremism text is initially just a "political declaration," said Schüller. He adds, not only with regard to the Diocese of Münster: “Now we need the will to implement them.” And with legal regulations.

This is “not magic”. The canon lawyer refers again to the basic order. Article 7(3) states that “anti-church activities” that could affect the credibility of the church “may be punished by law”.

Actions mentioned are such as “publicly speaking out against fundamental principles of the Catholic Church (e.g. the propagation of abortion or xenophobia)”, as well as the propagation of “ideological beliefs that contradict the content of the Catholic faith”.

“Adopt formulations”

“For me it’s not about an attitude TÜV,” emphasizes Schüller. People are allowed to vote for the AfD and become members of it. However, if they make “demonstrably public” problematic statements in a church context, a limit has been crossed. For example, if someone insults foreign priests.

According to the expert, three steps are needed: The wording of Article 7 of the basic regulations must be anchored in the central statutes for parish councils, in the statutes of the diocesan council and other bodies. On the one hand, when it comes to the eligibility of candidates. On the other hand, where the withdrawal of the mandate is regulated. Thirdly, there needs to be a place where a complaint against the exclusion is possible.

Regulations are also necessary where there are supra-diocesan requirements. In North Rhine-Westphalia, eligibility for membership in the church council is regulated by the “Law on the Administration of Catholic Church Assets”. Schüller emphasizes that every bishop is free to set additional rules for his diocese.

Dealing with priests and full-time officials

According to Schüller, there are clear regulations on how to deal with full-time employees who make inhumane comments. For lay employees and pastoral workers such as pastoral advisors, service law applies with the stated requirements of the basic regulations.

According to the canon lawyer, a bishop has additional access rights to priests and deacons. Although priests are allowed to belong to a party, they are not allowed to hold political office. The same applies to public statements as to laypeople.

“When talking to clerics, the bishop will certainly remind them of the promise of obedience that comes with ordination,” says Schüller. A further step would be suspension in the event of a violation.

This is what Würzburg and Berlin do

In the Diocese of Würzburg, the statutes for parish councils were adjusted in 2021. It states that a member “can be excluded if he or she publicly expresses or represents racist, xenophobic or other views that violate human rights or is a member of or supports organizations and parties that represent these views.”

The procedure is also described. The parish council can request an exclusion with a two-thirds majority. After the "factual and legal situation has been discussed with the parish counselling service or the diocesan arbitration board for pastoral matters", the Bishop decides.

And the election regulations for parish councils in the Archdiocese of Berlin state: "Membership of parish and parish councils is not compatible with membership of or active support for groups, organisations or parties that pursue misanthropic goals."

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