Religion

Navid Kermani © Arne Dedert

It's all about love. About sexuality, marriage, longing, loss – and not least about German normalities. Cologne-based writer Navid Kermani has a new book, "Sozusagen Paris," coming out this Monday. Although it's not his first novel to be about love – "Great Love" from 2014, for example – the publicist is currently more in the public discussion with a different topic. Could Kermani become a candidate for the office of Federal President next year??

Catholic News Agency (KNA): Mr. Gruber, you presented your film on DVD to Pope Francis during a general audience in Rome. What was your impression of him?

Martin Gruber: This pope has real rock star qualities. It was almost like being at a Robbie Williams concert – except there weren't knickers flying, but rosaries. He is simply close to the people, he stands for what he sells.

Federal Minister of Justice Heiko Maas © Bernd von Jutrczenka

"A Muslim woman wearing a headscarf, a young man wearing a kippah or a minaret are just as much a part of Germany as the ringing of church bells," said Federal Justice Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) in Berlin on Tuesday. At the same time, he stressed that the answer to growing diversity cannot be to secure privileges for some and continue discrimination against others. The minister made his remarks at a ceremony marking the tenth anniversary of the General Equal Treatment Act (AAG).

Dark clouds between Catholics and CSU © Oliver Weiken

This was adopted on Saturday by the autumn plenary meeting of the body in Wurzburg. It recommended several countermeasures, including stepping up the fight against poverty and promoting quality media.

"Treasure of democracy"

The "treasure of democracy" must be rediscovered, the text says. Politics should be oriented to the common good, which should not be limited to a nation state. The human dignity of each individual must be preserved, he said.

The name says it all: For 70 years, "Christ in der Gegenwart" has wanted to provide orientation in current debates in politics, society and science. To mark its anniversary, the weekly magazine published in Freiburg, Baden, invited its readers to a congress in Dresden, Saxony. There, the weekend was about "Courage for religion in modern society".

Donald Trump embraces US flag © Chris O'meara

The president said in his proclamation Tuesday evening. The date was chosen because the Statute for Religious Freedom was passed in Virginia on that day in 1786, a White House statement continued. Faith is embedded "in the history, spirit and soul of our nation," Trump further emphasized, "On Religious Freedom Day, we celebrate the many faiths that make up our country."

Study: Catholic structures can promote abuse © Corinne Simon (CBA)

When the debate about abuse in the Catholic Church in Germany got underway eight years ago, Jesuit Father Klaus Mertes was the first to speak out: There are special conditions in the Catholic Church that favor abuse of children and young people, he said.

Pope: clergy are not untouchable

Interviewer: How did Pope Francis deal with the ie of abuse?

Paul Zulehner (Viennese pastoral theologian and sociologist of religion): It was very important that he called the bishops of all the world together. Just as we know from research on our society that there have been very strong cultural differences in the course of our development, the cultures in the world are also very diverse. The pope wanted to make the bishops aware in the first place that there is a fundamental problem here that you can no longer get around, where you have to look and really come to terms with resolutely.

They came at night, when Nakatya was asleep alone at home with her children, and forcibly broke into her hut. She was made submissive at gunpoint, tied up and dragged out into the open. With harsh gestures, the young woman in her hut underscores the unbearable memories that the viewer of "Voices of Violence" (from 10. March in the cinema) a lot to take in.

The Vatican has two rather large construction sites these days. They sound similar and yet are fundamentally different: Chile and China. With both, however, nothing less than Pope Francis' political reputation is at stake. In South America, the ongoing ie is (once again) sexual abuse – and whether a Francis bishop once covered up for a superior. The China construction site is no less delicate. There is uncertainty among Catholics – because the Vatican is apparently negotiating very concretely with the leadership in Beijing about filling bishop's chairs.