Klöckner demands: Church should put pastoral care about politics!

Klöckner demands: Church should put pastoral care about politics!

Jutta Klöckner, the new Bundestag president, pointed out the role of the church in society during her speech at the constituent meeting of the new Bundestag on April 23, 2025. In an interview with the "Bild am Sonntag", she expressed sharp criticism of the political interference of the churches in Germany. Klöckner asks the churches to focus more on the pastoral care of people and to be less politically active. Your statements have triggered a debate about the importance and limits of political engagement of churches.

The member of the Bundestag and CDU politician finds that the church is increasingly behaving like a non-governmental organization by providing statements on current political issues. Klöckner warns that the churches could be "interchangeable" through this commitment and are no longer able to address fundamental questions of their faith. This is reflected in the comprehensive debate that was initiated by her comment. Church representatives from the Bad Kreuznach district, on the other hand, represent a different perspective and emphasize the necessary political voice of the churches in today's society.

political voices and resistance

The statements of Klöckner find both consent and resistance. Supporters such as Thorsten Frei (CDU) support their position and question the extent to which the churches should be committed to daily politics. In contrast, prominent politicians such as Lars Castellucci (SPD) express criticism of Klöckners and emphasize that it is not their job to give the churches advice. Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and Britta Haßelmann (Greens) have also emphasized the importance of the political voice of the churches. In particular, the death of Pope Francis is seen as a loss of an important political voice of the Catholic Church, which has always taken care of the concerns of the poor and weakest.

Armin Laschet (CDU) emphasized Pope Francis' commitment to the social issues of his community and made it clear that the political and social engagement of the churches was central to society. Annette Schavan (CDU) even went so far to describe the criticism of the political role of the churches and emphasized that Christianity contained a political element from the start.

The history of church social policy

In order to better understand the current debate about the role of churches in politics, it makes sense to take a look at the history and traditions. The Catholic Church has historically dealt with social and political issues. This did not only start in the 19th century with the question of workers, but encompassed numerous topics such as poverty, wealth, slavery, war and peace. Over the centuries, the church has always tried ethically responsible living conditions in a changing society.

important documents such as the encyclical "Rerum Novarum" by Pope Leo XIII. From 1891 the need for state social protection and the importance of social ties illustrate. This developing social teaching of the Church shows that it does not represent rigid positions, but reacts flexibly to the social challenges.

The Catholic social movement has made a decisive contribution to the design of the political context in the Federal Republic of Germany, especially through organizations such as the Catholic employee movement (KAB). Even if the influence of this movement has decreased in recent decades, it remains a central task of the Church to actively comment on social and political issues.

Today's discussion about the role of the churches shows how important it is that they bring their voice into social and political debates. Finally, social and economic conditions can influence the life of faith, even if the Church points out that not every solution can be disciplinary for social problems.