Bonn (dpa / lnw) - In the past year, the number of people leaving the Catholic Church in North Rhine-Westphalia has skyrocketed. The German Bishops' Conference (DBK) announced on Monday in Bonn that a total of 97,896 resignations had been counted. Compared to previous years, this was the highest number of people leaving the Catholic Church.
Several dioceses in North Rhine-Westphalia, such as the dioceses of Essen and Münster, reported high levels of resignations. The diocese of Essen spoke of a "historic negative record". In 2020, a total of 50,165 people left the Catholic Church in North Rhine-Westphalia, in 2019 there were 67,874 and in 2018 a total of 49,755.
Nationwide, more people left the Catholic Church in 2021 than ever before. More than 359,000 Catholics turned their backs on their church last year, the German Bishops' Conference reported.
The Münster canon lawyer Thomas Schüller spoke of a "Woelki tsunami" in view of the record number. "The dramatic process of erosion in the Catholic Church is progressing unchecked," the theologian told the "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger" (Tuesday).
The Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki is controversial in his diocese. After a break of several months, he returned in early March. According to the Bishops' Conference, 40,772 people left the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Cologne last year.
