Church - Church sets volunteers away due to AfD activity
The Catholic Church in Hamm has excluded an AfD functionary from all honors in the parish. A role in the AfD is incompatible with church honorary service, argued the responsible pastor, according to a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Paderborn. The decision was made in consultation with the Archdiocese. The AfD has now made the matter public and accused the pastor of "political discrimination." The "Westphalian Anzeiger" reported on this first.
The AfD member had been working in the St. Francis of Assisi parish for several years, among other things, as an altar server and lector, volunteering. According to the party, the 20-year-old is the bureau chief of the AfD fraction in the Hamm city council.
This active functionary status cannot be reconciled with an honorary role in the church community, argued the pastor and the Archdiocese in their statement. If the former altar server were to give up his public activity for the AfD, he could resume his honorary duties in the community.
"Nationalism and Christianity are incompatible"
The pastor and the Archdiocese referred to a declaration of the German Bishops' Conference in their decision. Entitled "Nationalism and Christianity are incompatible," it states specifically: "The dissemination of extreme right-wing slogans – including, in particular, racism and antisemitism – is also incompatible with a main or honorary service in the church."
The affected 20-year-old intends to legally challenge the ban on his honorary service in the church. His expulsion is a violation of the Basic Law, which prohibits discrimination based on political beliefs. "I would wish that the pastor had ever told me where I acted racist or antisemitic," said the AfD member in response to a query. "This exclusion is not only a violation of my rights as a believer, but also a betrayal of the principles of tolerance and respect that the church preaches."
The individual in question had previously served as an altar server and lector in the St. Francis of Assisi parish in Hamm, which is located in North Rhine-Westphalia. Despite his role in the local AfD fraction, the Catholic Church in Hamm, in consultation with the Archdiocese of Paderborn, decided to exclude him from all honors due to his party affiliation. The AfD member, who is also the bureau chief of the AfD fraction in the Hamm city council, plans to challenge this ban in court, arguing that it infringes on his rights as a believer and violates the Basic Law's prohibition against political discrimination.
