Cardinal Kasper warns the Church in Germany is in ‘deep crisis’

(LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Walter Kasper has warned the German Church against arrogant attempts to convince other parts of the Church of their initiatives for reform amid a “crisis of God” in Europe.

During a conference titled “God in Today’s World,” organized by the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, Kasper, the former bishop of the diocese, addressed attempts by the German Catholic episcopate to lecture other parts of the universal Church on their reform ideas.

Individuals must not try to “dictate the course of action,” Kasper said last week in Stuttgart. “That would be the best way to make oneself unpopular around the world.”

Advice along the lines of, “We’ll tell you how to proceed” is no longer accepted by “anyone, including in Africa, today,” said the cardinal, a former member of the Roman Curia.

“In Germany, we are currently in the midst of a deep crisis.” The 93-year-old criticized a “pessimism and skepticism that has become so common in Germany.”

In Africa, on the other hand, Christianity is growing, Kasper observed. He said that there are now more Catholics in Africa than in all of Europe, where a “crisis of God” prevails.

“This crisis is a unique phenomenon in Europe,” Kasper asserted.

The German cardinal called for placing the proclamation of faith in God at the Center of the Church’s work.

Referring to the Enlightenment of the 18th century, Kasper stated: “An enlightenment of the Enlightenment is necessary and is already underway.” Especially in France, the country of the Enlightenment, there are currently signs of a Christian revival, he said.

Kasper, although progressively liberal himself on such things as divorce and “remarriage,” being the architect behind the proposals in Amoris Laetitia and member of the infamous St. Gallen Mafia, has been critical of the heretical German Synodal Way in the past. In 2022, he criticized the German bishops for planning to set up a “synodal council” that would give governing power to lay people. He said such an attack on the episcopate would “break the neck of the Church.”