According to abuse reports: church exits multiplied - "That's enough"

Created: 02/27/2022, 20:00

By: Jonas Napiletzki

Despite the wave of departures, the churches in the district are not empty.

Today, Dean Michael Mannhardt (right) donated the Eucharist in the almost full Miesbach parish church.

© Max Kalup

The number of people leaving the church in the district has multiplied.

While registrars perceive the wave as almost unbroken, Dean Michael Mannhardt criticizes the resignations.

District – Martin Remlinger, deputy head of the Miesbach registry office, describes the first two weeks after the abuse report was published as “particularly blatant”.

A month later we spoke to the officer on the phone.

How is the situation developing?

“Almost unchanged,” says Remlinger.

All the church members who leave the church these days – at least formally – have to cross his threshold.

And that's a lot;

"In any case, more than normal," reports Remlinger's colleague from the registry office in Hausham, Sylvia Heyder.

"That's enough," she quotes some citizens who have come to her office on Schlierseer Strasse in the past few weeks - and are still coming.

Some had planned to leave for a long time.

"And the report - that was the last straw for many."

The number of people leaving the church in the district of Miesbach has multiplied.

For technical reasons, the communities marked with an asterisk show the sum of the departures from all denominations - all other values ​​refer to the departures of Roman Catholic origin.

© Source: responsible registry offices, graphic: Münchner Merkur

There are no signs of an end to this development in either Miesbach or Holzkirchen.

Heyder says more and more people are coming into office in batches.

From Miesbacher's point of view, Remlinger describes that the wave is only slightly decreasing.

The numbers prove them both right.

In Miesbach, the number of resignations from the beginning of this year to one month after the publication of the report quintupled compared to the same period last year, tripled in Hausham and quadrupled in Holzkirchen.

The developments look similar in other communities - also in the Tegernsee valley.

There are exit numbers here - technically justified by the registry office - only as the sum of all denominations.

In the predominantly Catholic valley, the majority of those leaving are likely to be of Roman Catholic origin.

According to Mannhardt, the local parish association is not responsible for many

For Dean Michael Mannhardt, this is a "very, very painful subject".

Because: "We try to go other ways locally." The 48-year-old, who also heads the Hausham and Miesbach parish associations, has spoken to many who are leaving.

A frequent answer: "We're not leaving because of you - we'll then donate to the parish association." On the one hand, that's gratifying, on the other hand, every loss hurts.

The Dean finds that the German system of church membership is "difficult".

The fact that you have to go to the registry office to resign and that the church only finds out about it afterwards is “unique in the world”.

He would like the Italian system, for example.

"There, the citizens can decide for themselves what they pay the tax for," explains Mannhardt.

In addition to the church, social or cultural institutions are the compulsory choice – unlike in Germany.

Criticism of exits: "Who finances the amenities?"

This is where the Dean's criticism comes in.

He asks: "Who will finance all of our amenities if the church no longer exists?" Many would not realize that the church maintains and supports cultural monuments, kindergartens and other facilities.

He cites the Hausham community library as an example.

"The church butters up an incredible amount." The church in Agatharied is the oldest monument in Hausham;

St. Laurentius in Rottach-Egern is one of the most valuable tourist postcard motifs.

The same applies to Wilparting in Irschenberg.

"Can the rest just withdraw and impose the preservation of the monuments on the church?"

Furthermore, Mannhardt sees the importance of the Christian voice dwindling - also because those who leave are no longer statistically recorded.

"Although many still feel that they belong to the church." Of course, the parish association also makes "honest efforts" to recruit statistical members and tries to get into conversation with the people.

The numbers themselves do not surprise Mannhardt.

"The media attention was great." He anticipated the reactions.

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Register here for Tegernsee, here for Miesbach and here for Holzkirchen.

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