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Refugees and sea rescuers from a Spanish aid organization in the Mediterranean (archive image)
Photo: Javier Fergo / dpa
After an article in the church's "Korrespondenzblatt" (correspondence sheet), a Bavarian clergyman received violent objections from colleagues.
In the commentary, Pastor Matthias Dreher from the Protestant Melanchthon Church in Nuremberg argues that refugees consciously risked their lives in order to fulfill their wish for a better life.
Previously, the "Nürnberger Nachrichten" reported on the text in the publication of the Bavarian pastors' association.
According to Dreher, in response to a previous article in which the sea rescue of migrants was advocated, rescue is only necessary according to Christian ethical standards and "in memory of the good Samaritan" if the shipwrecked "must go under and drown" .
"In the course of the doctrine of the two kingdoms, which leaves operational structural policy to the state, a Christian, as long as he does not see a dying person in front of him like the Samaritan, can drown migrants who neglect responsibility."
Deans respond with a statement
A spokesman for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria announced that the church leadership now wants to meet Dreher for a discussion.
Regional bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm publicly contradicted Dreher's statements.
"His argument is based on the claim that the sea rescuers are the reason people risked crossing the Mediterranean. This claim has been refuted," said Bedford-Strohm.
Letting people drown in the Mediterranean is irresponsible.
"Under no circumstances should one let people drown. From a Christian point of view, this requirement is unconditional," said the Protestant deans in Nuremberg in a joint statement, according to the portal "evangelisch.de".
A ship like the "Sea-Watch 4" co-financed by the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) is therefore "not a political solution".
However, it is "a contribution to a human solution based on a diaconal attitude of love."
According to the portal, the editor-in-chief of the correspondence sheet, retired pastor Martin Ost, said he knew that the majority of pastors rejected Dreher's opinion.
However, for a long time he has had "the dull feeling" that there are some colleagues who are close to the bourgeois part of the AfD.
In the coming edition of the "correspondence sheet", Dreher's statements will therefore be discussed.
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