Overview
- Speaking at the 104th German Katholikentag in Würzburg on Saturday, Bavarian leader Markus Söder described his personal faith journey before about 200 attendees.
- Söder identified himself as Protestant and said religion once deeply interested him in school, even as he later drifted from church life as a young adult.
- He recalled distancing himself between ages 18 and 22, saying he had felt untouchable at the time and kept faith at arm’s length.
- He said his mother’s death four weeks before his first Landtag election shook him and, through a prayer group, he learned again to speak with and about God and to pray.
- He also faulted the Catholic Church for reacting too late to abuse allegations, saying that delay drove many away even as he sees more honest efforts now to address the wrongdoing.