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Bätzing (left) in 2020 at an ecumenical service in Berlin Cathedral
Photo: Christian Ditsch / dpa
In the opinion of the chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Georg Bätzing, the year that is coming to an end was not all bad.
»2021 with all its complaints, with the drama of a global pandemic, with wars, flight and displacement, natural disasters and famines, with political escalations and new bearers of hope - it was not just a year of great unreasonable expectations, we experienced many good things personally and in cooperation «, Said the Limburg bishop on Friday after a speech that had been distributed in advance in a sermon in the Frankfurt Cathedral.
For the benefits they have experienced, Christians urge them to thank God at the end of the year.
"There is nothing against it if tears of worry and sadness well up in your eyes," said the Catholic bishop.
Bätzing recalled that the outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) asked for the hymn "Great God, we praise you", among other things, when she left the Bundeswehr.
Presumably she chose the song out of respect for her family origins from a Protestant pastor's family.
But she also thanked God in a very natural way when she said goodbye.
sem / dpa