Jon Anderson, Author at Catholic Herald

Jon Anderson

Cardinal Marx’s protégé completes a rapid rise to the top

March 12, 2020

Following the resignation of Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) has a new president. Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg was elected for a six-year term at the DBK’s spring plenary meeting in Mainz. Bishop Bätzing, 58, has only been a bishop since 2016, but has long been regarded as a protégé of Cardinal

Germany’s ‘next Catholic Chancellor’? Not any more

February 20, 2020

Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has plunged into chaos, with Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (AKK) suddenly resigning as party leader and announcing she will not be a candidate for Chancellor in next year’s federal election. After little more than a year in office, AKK, an active Catholic and a member of the Central Council of German Catholics,

Who will succeed Cardinal Marx in Germany?

February 20, 2020

The spring plenary of the German bishops’ conference (DBK), which is taking place at the start of March, will be more eventful than expected. In a surprise announcement, Cardinal Reinhard Marx has said that he will not seek a second term as DBK president. In a letter to his fellow bishops, Cardinal Marx wrote that

The stunning decline in Catholicism in the Pope’s homeland

December 05, 2019

A recent study from Argentina has shown a dramatic decline in the Church in Pope Francis’s homeland. The Conicet survey showed that 62.9 per cent of the population identified as Catholic, next to 76.5 per cent in a comparable 2008 study. Even more striking shifts are seen in public attitudes towards the Church, with three

Argentina’s new Peronist rulers may take on the Church over abortion

November 07, 2019

Pope Francis’s native Argentina has swung sharply to the left in its recent general election. Amid a deep economic crisis, conservative president Mauricio Macri was easily defeated by Peronist challenger Alberto Fernández. This also marks a dramatic return to power for left-wing former president Cristina Kirchner, who with her late husband Néstor dominated the country

Amid Israel’s election turmoil, the Church is keeping a low profile

September 26, 2019

The recent general election in Israel, the second this year, has confirmed the country’s political gridlock. Veteran prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been left with no obvious majority, but it will be even more difficult for his opponents to secure one. The major dividing line, apart from the divisive figure of Netanyahu, has been religion. Avigdor

Germany’s ‘church strike’ puts its bishops in an awkward position

May 23, 2019

A women’s strike led by a dissident Catholic group has sparked actions across Germany. The Maria 2.0 group, which uses an image of the Blessed Virgin silenced by a sticking plaster across her mouth (pictured), called for a week-long boycott of Church activities including Mass. Although participation has been patchy, there has been extensive press

A Bavarian Catholic is preparing to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker

March 21, 2019

There is due to be a generational shift at the top of the European Commission after the European Parliament elections in May. The veteran Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker is likely to be succeeded by 46-year-old Manfred Weber, the lead candidate of the European People’s Party (EPP), the German-dominated centre-right grouping in the EU Parliament. Since

The beautiful witness of the Eastern Catholic Churches

March 07, 2019

The coal country of north-eastern Pennsylvania is full of depressed small towns which have been losing population for decades. Today, if the region makes the news, it is for the social problems associated with the American Rust Belt. But at the end of the 19th century, this was a boom area, with immigrants from Europe

Think German Catholicism is in decline? Look at the latest figures on Protestantism

February 21, 2019

In Germany, the crucible of the Reformation 500 years ago, the country’s former Protestant majority now makes up less than a third of the population. A recent study at the University of Münster tracks religious trends since 1950. Between 1950 and 2010, membership of the Catholic Church has dropped from 37 per cent to 30

Germany’s Christian Democrats are about to liberalise the abortion laws

February 07, 2019

The German government has reached a compromise on liberalising the country’s abortion law. Health minister Jens Spahn of the Christian Democrats (CDU) will revise the controversial Article 219a which bans advertising of abortion services. The government will now publish a list of doctors offering abortion and expand training in the procedure. This follows a bitter

With its new leader, is Germany’s ruling party returning to its Catholic roots?

January 03, 2019

Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has a new leader, after the party conference in Hamburg elected Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, known as AKK for short, to take over from Chancellor Angela Merkel, party leader since 2000. AKK is now likely to take over as chancellor when Merkel eventually stands down from government. In her acceptance speech, the

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