German Protestant Church council chairwoman criticizes asylum debate
Germany should stop seeing refugees as a general threat, the council chairwoman of the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD) said on Sunday, calling the political debate on asylum seekers “dangerous” for focussing on deterrence and deportation.
“It’s about people, not numbers,” Kirsten Fehrs said in the southern German city of Würzburg, where the EKD’s synod was convening for its annual meeting.
Speaking in the wake of both a US election outcome with global consequences and the crumbling of Germany’s coalition, Fehrs said: “The world has been shaken and many people are experiencing growing insecurity and fear.”
“I hope that our country will regain its political footing,” the theologian and Hamburg bishop said. “Democracy thrives on stable institutions.”
The synod, the church parliament of the EKD, Germany’s largest Protestant denomination, is holding meetings in Würzburg until Wednesday. The main topic of this year’s conference is “Flight, Migration and Human Rights.”
In his welcoming address, the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, stressed the importance of the fundamental right to asylum for those who are politically persecuted.
The president of the synod, Anna-Nicole Heinrich, earlier said: “Every person has the same dignity – no matter where they come from.”
She said that this is frequently ignored in the heated debate around limiting and deporting migrants. “As churches, we will continue to protect the weak and stand up for the human rights of refugees.”
On Monday, the agenda is expected to turn to the prevention and addressing of sexual violence.
Last year, the then EKD Council Chairwoman Annette Kurschus came under pressure during the meeting of the 128 synod members because she was alleged to have known many years ago that a church employee at the time was acting in a sexually offensive manner.
The theologian denied this but resigned as council chairwoman and president of the Westphalian Church to avoid creating headlines that might harm victims of sexualized violence through remaining in office, she said at the time.
On Tuesday, the EKD council chair succeeding Hamburg bishop Fehrs for the remaining years of the current term until 2027 is due to be elected.
As an umbrella organization for 20 regional churches, the Hanover-based EKD represents 16.8 million Protestants in 12,500 congregations.
