With regard to racism and right-wing extremism, Protestant Bishop Beate Hofmann calls on the church to take a clear stand. Right-wing ideas and Christian faith are incompatible, they say.
Church must protect those who are threatened by right-wing violence. At the same time, it should seek dialogue with people who are open to right-wing thinking, the bishop of the Evangelical Church of Kurhessen-Waldeck said Monday in Kassel. "Such people also exist in our own ranks."It is a challenge, but also an opportunity, to enable these people to let go of their prejudices by talking to them.
Corona pandemic not a punishment from God
The bishop called the Corona pandemic a "burning glass on our living conditions". The crisis reveals social inequalities and fundamental problems in the world. But the pandemic is not a punishment from God. The bishop called this position, which is sometimes also held by theologians, "quite problematic, because we would then have to explain why God is punishing those of all people who are currently seen as particularly defenseless.".
Hofmann criticizes conspiracy theorists
Rather, he said, Corona is "a combination of presumably natural processes and man-made proliferation," in which mobility plays a major role. Hofmann criticized overly simplistic explanations by conspiracy theorists. "I think we have to endure the complexity of this situation, we have to look for ways together how to deal with the experiences of loss of control."