Overview
- At the close of the autumn plenary in Fulda on September 25, Georg Bätzing warned that an AfD-led government would act anti-church and pose “big problems,” including over church–state cooperation.
- Bätzing said he hopes the political firewall holds but cautioned that those voting for a party he described as in large parts right-wing extremist would also feel its policies.
- AfD Saxony-Anhalt deputy Hans-Thomas Tillschneider escalated the dispute by calling Bätzing “vom Teufel geschickt,” citing scripture after the bishop urged voters not to back the AfD and labeled it divisive.
- Bishops’ Conference spokesman Matthias Kopp publicly rejected the attack and answered with a pointed riposte at a press conference, referencing John 8:7.
- The bishops issued an appeal on the Gaza war calling for an immediate end to violence and progress toward two states, voiced skepticism about reinstating general conscription for now, and urged measured social-state reforms.