The Forum of German Catholics () is a conservative Catholic lay organization in Germany. It was founded in 2000 in opposition to the Central Committee of German Catholics.

History and function

The Forum of German Catholics was founded on 30 September 2000 in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Fulda The Diocese of Fulda () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the north of the German state of Hessen. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Paderborn. The bishop's seat is in Fulda Cathedral. History The history of ...

and is based in

Kaufering, Bavaria Kaufering () is a municipality in the district of Landsberg in Bavaria in Germany. It lies on the river Lech. During World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, glob ...

. It is an official religious organization registered with the German government. It was founded by Hubert Gienten, with the guidance of Archbishop Johannes Dyba. A conservative organization, it was formed in opposition to the Central Committee of German Catholics. The forum, made up of members of the

Catholic laity Catholic laity are the ordinary members of the Catholic Church who are neither clergy nor recipients of Holy Orders (Catholic Church), Holy Orders or vowed to life in a Catholic religious order, religious order or Religious congregation, congreg ...

, claims to be committed to "unadulterated and unabridged" faith. It hosts congresses and other events, focused on Catholic teaching and ministry. Since 2001, the forum hosts the annual Congress on Joy of Faith, taking place in

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

and

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

. In 2002 the congress was officiated by Cardinal

Joseph Ratzinger Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as po ...

. In 2009, the forum released a resolution stating that

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

were natural allies in the "fight against a culture of death". The resolution also stated that the "systematic displacement of the Christian faith from politics and public life" was the most dangerous threat in Europe. Participants of the 2009 conference included Archbishop Jean-Claude Perisset, Bishop Gregor Maria Hanke, Bishop Friedhelm Hofmann, and Bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann. In 2014 the congress's opening ceremony was officiated by Cardinal

Gerhard Ludwig Müller Gerhard Ludwig Müller (; born 31 December 1947) is a German Catholic prelate who served as the Cardinal-Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 until 2017. Pope Francis e ...

Controversies

In 2007

Eva Herman Eva Bischoff ( Feldker; 9 November 1958), known as Eva Herman, is a German author and former television presenter. She worked as a news presenter on the nationwide ''Tagesschau (Germany), Tagesschau'' news programme from 1989 to 2006 and also p ...

, who has been accused of promoting ideas from the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

, served as a guest speaker at the forum's seventh annual congress. Her involvement was criticized by Dieter Graumann, Vice President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. Herman's involvement was also protested by Alois Rhiel, the Minister of Economics in

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, who resigned from his patronage of the congress. In 2019 the forum called for Catholic women to boycott the

German Catholic Women's Association The German Catholic Women's Association (), abbreviated as KDFB, is a federally registered Catholic lay women's organization and political interest group. The association has roughly 180,000 members in Germany with 1,800 branches in twenty-one G ...

, after the organization had shown support for the Mary 2.0 movement.

Board of trustees

* Alois-Konstantin, 9th Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg *

Gloria, Princess of Thurn and Taxis Gloria, Dowager Princess of Thurn and Taxis (''Mariae Gloria Ferdinanda Joachima Josephine Wilhelmine Huberta''; born Countess Gloria von Schönburg-Glauchau, 23 February 1960) is a German socialite, businesswoman, Catholic activist, art collec ...

* Baroness Hedwig von Beverfoerde * Cardinal

* Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes * Bishop Heinz Josef Algermissen * Manfred Christ * Edmund Dillinger * Norbert Geis *

Gabriele Kuby Gabriele Kuby (born 1944) is a German writer and sociologist. She is a Catholic convert and noted for Traditionalist Catholic ideas and orthodox positions on sexuality and gender, which are stated in works like '' The Global Sexual Revolution: Th ...

* Bernd Posselt * Peter Gauweiler * Werner Münch * Anton Ziegenaus * Lothar Roos * Hans Alois Schieser * Wolfgang Ockenfels * Konrad Löw * Andreas Laun * Bishop Christoph Casetti * Josef Grabmeier

Deceased members of the board of trustees

* Archduke Otto, Crown Prince of Austria * Countess Johanna von Westphalen * Count Leo-Ferdinand Henckel von Donnersmarck * Count Hans von Huyn * Cardinal Paul Augustin Mayer * Cardinal

Joachim Meisner Joachim Meisner (25 December 1933 – 5 July 2017) was a German Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Cologne from 1989 to 2014. He previously served as Bishop of Berlin from 1980 to 1989, and was created a cardinal in 1983. He was wid ...

* Cardinal Leo Scheffczyk * Karin Struck * Gontard Jaster * Aloysius Winter

References

{{Reflist

External links

Forum of German Catholics
2000 establishments in Germany Catholic Church in Germany Christian organizations established in 2000 Christian political organizations Conservatism in Germany Fulda Organisations based in Bavaria