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Germany’s bishops are months away from a potential showdown with a surging political party they have urged Catholics not to vote for because of its “racial-nationalist” attitudes.
The looming confrontation could take place in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the former communist East Germany, where voters go to the polls Sept. 6 to elect new representatives to the state parliament.
The Alternative for Germany party — unanimously condemned by the German bishops in 2024 — is projected to win the most seats. The latest poll puts it in first place with 42%, well ahead of the center-right Christian Democratic Union with 24%. If its support continues to grow, the AfD could even approach an outright majority in the Saxony-Anhalt parliament.
Local Bishop Gerhard Feige has described the possibility that Saxony-Anhalt will become the first of Germany’s 16 states to be controlled by the AfD as an “existential” challenge to the Church as the party has proposed eliminating the German church tax system.
Why are tensions between the bishops and the AfD coming to a head in Saxony-Anhalt? What is the exact nature of the perceived threat? How is the Church responding?
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