The plenary meeting of the German Bishops Conference (Dbk) opened in Fulda yesterday. In his opening speech, mgr. Robert Zollitsch, archbishop of Freiburg and president of Dbk, exhorted the Catholics to commit themselves to missionary work, on the example of Saint Paul. "So far the Catholics in Germany have had too many problems speaking of their own faith unconditionally and openly claiming to believe. This must change", he said, criticising the "loss of the traditions of faith". This means that "now, even Catholics deliberately mix up different contents of faith, turning them into a hotchpotch of religious ideas". Zollitsch advocated a "more offensive" attitude by the Church, no longer based mostly "on obedience, monologues or reminders". "The Church cannot accept to be reduced to a simple service provider by politics and society. Its aspiration must always be to transmit the acceptance of and closeness to God". The plenary meeting of Dbk, which is attended by 67 German bishops, will end on September 25th. The agenda includes a declaration on the current "public discussion about the building of mosques in Germany".
