Wave of church resignations in Regensburg: registry office increases dates drastically 

Created: 03/14/2022, 20:59

By: Stefan Aigner

The debate about the abuse report and the role of Pope Benedict does not leave the diocese of Regensburg untouched.

© Günter Staudinger

The number of people leaving the diocese of Regensburg almost doubled in the first month and a half compared to the previous year.

The registry office pushes extra shifts.

Regensburg - The debate about the Munich abuse report and the role of Pope Benedict VXI.

in the cover-up of sexual abuse may have played an important role, but also the multiple verbal gaffes by Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer: The city of Regensburg is at a record level in terms of church withdrawals this year.

Leaving the church in Regensburg: the registry office doubles the number of appointments

As Mayor Gertrud Maltz-Schwarzfischer reported in response to a request from the Green City Council faction, the numbers have almost doubled compared to the previous year.

In 2021, between January 3rd and February 16th, 269 people had declared their withdrawal from the church tax community, this number was 503 in the same period of 2022. 48 more people had already registered for February 17th to become members of the Catholic (and to a lesser extent the Evangelical) Church.

This also has consequences for the Regensburg registry office.

Extra shifts are currently being worked there in order to be able to cope with the exit wave.

In the past, only 60 appointments per week were offered during which one could declare one's resignation, but there are currently 142 appointments per week to choose from in the city's online calendar - the average waiting time is still three weeks on average.

Church withdrawals: Regensburg is on record course

With the more than 500 resignations mentioned in the first month and a half of the year, the city of Regensburg has already reached more than a fifth of the numbers of last year - at that time a total of 2,337 people left the Catholic or Protestant Church.

A number that is likely to be many times higher this year if we follow this trend.

Until mid-February, the diocese of Regensburg had set up a so-called “exit telephone” in order to respond to what was said to be a “great need for discussion”.

But the attempts to persuade believers to compare in the Catholic Church do not seem to have been particularly fruitful.

In the meantime, the “exit phone” has been shut down again.

You couldn’t declare your resignation there anyway – the registry office is responsible for the tax declaration.

The exit fees are currently 35 euros.

(By the way: Our brand new Regensburg newsletter will keep you regularly informed about all the important stories from the World Heritage city and the Upper Palatinate. Register here.)

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Abuse debate in Regensburg: Bishop apologizes to employees

In connection with the debate about the Munich abuse report, Bishop Voderholzer of Regensburg had made headlines several times in the past.

Among other things, he spoke of an "abuse of abuse".

A statement by Voderholzer at the conference on the synodal path in Frankfurt am Main also caused widespread criticism.

In a letter to the employees in the diocese of Regensburg, the bishop apologized in February.

"I am sincerely sorry that I myself have contributed to increasing the twilight through clumsy actions," wrote Voderholzer, among other things.