https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Germany in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed What started as a simple misunderstanding turned into sixteen years of paying a Church tax he barely understood – and then a surprisingly emotional goodbye. The Local's Tom Pugh explains what happened when he left the Catholic Church in Germany. https://www.thelocal.de/20251107/flawed-and-guilty-what-happened-when-i-left-the-church-in-germany Fri, 07 Nov 2025 17:19:19 +0100 flawed-and-guilty-what-happened-when-i-left-the-church-in-germany A push to revitalise Yiddish and its cultural traditions has gained momentum in Germany, the very place where the Nazi regime's Holocaust sought to eradicate the Jewish communities who spoke it. https://www.thelocal.de/20251026/food-for-the-soul-germanys-yiddish-revival Sun, 26 Oct 2025 10:37:18 +0100 food-for-the-soul-germanys-yiddish-revival The German Catholic Church is hoping that having a new pope who can speak German will prove a more willing ear to the country's desire for reform, according to its leaders. https://www.thelocal.de/20250510/crisis-hit-german-catholics-pin-hopes-on-pope-leo-xiv Sat, 10 May 2025 10:35:19 +0200 crisis-hit-german-catholics-pin-hopes-on-pope-leo-xiv February 28th marks the start of the Islamic holy festival of Ramadan, when Muslims around the world start their month-long fast. From dazzling lights in Frankfurt to Eid parties in Berlin, here's how Germany's Muslim community is celebrating. https://www.thelocal.de/20250228/how-muslims-in-germany-are-celebrating-ramadan-this-year Fri, 28 Feb 2025 14:26:27 +0100 how-muslims-in-germany-are-celebrating-ramadan-this-year Germany is planning to deport the leader of an Islamic centre in Hamburg it banned in July over alleged links to extremist groups, an interior ministry spokeswoman said Thursday. https://www.thelocal.de/20240829/germany-to-deport-leader-of-banned-islamic-centre Thu, 29 Aug 2024 13:44:52 +0200 germany-to-deport-leader-of-banned-islamic-centre Germany on Wednesday banned the Hamburg Islamic Centre, an association that has been under investigation for several months over its alleged support for Lebanon's Hezbollah group and its links to Iran. https://www.thelocal.de/20240724/germany-bans-islamist-group-over-alleged-links-to-hezbollah-and-iran Wed, 24 Jul 2024 18:30:41 +0200 germany-bans-islamist-group-over-alleged-links-to-hezbollah-and-iran The leader of the German Protestant Church, Annette Kurschus, on Monday stepped down from her post after being accused of covering up suspected sexual assault by a colleague. https://www.thelocal.de/20231120/german-protestant-church-head-quits-after-sex-assault-cover-up-allegations Mon, 20 Nov 2023 13:21:48 +0100 german-protestant-church-head-quits-after-sex-assault-cover-up-allegations More than half a million people in Germany left the Catholic Church last year, the country's bishops' conference said Wednesday, topping a record set in 2021 amid rampant sexual abuse scandals. https://www.thelocal.de/20230628/record-number-of-catholics-leave-german-church Wed, 28 Jun 2023 19:20:28 +0200 record-number-of-catholics-leave-german-church A German court on Tuesday ordered the archdiocese of Cologne to pay €300,000 in damages to a victim of repeated sexual abuse by a priest in the 1970s. https://www.thelocal.de/20230613/cologne-court-orders-major-payout-to-priest-abuse-victim Tue, 13 Jun 2023 19:35:54 +0200 cologne-court-orders-major-payout-to-priest-abuse-victim Germany's Catholic Church has ended a landmark renewal project by agreeing a slew of reforms including blessing same-sex marriages and allowing female deacons, at the risk of angering the Vatican. https://www.thelocal.de/20230312/german-catholics-challenge-vatican-with-sweeping-reform-drive Sun, 12 Mar 2023 20:17:31 +0100 german-catholics-challenge-vatican-with-sweeping-reform-drive When Kurt and Anna-Maria Spennesberger heard the news about former pope Benedict XVI's death, they immediately got into their car and drove 200 kilometres to the former pontiff's southern German birth town Marktl. https://www.thelocal.de/20230101/black-ribbons-candles-ex-pope-benedicts-german-home-region-in-mourning Sun, 01 Jan 2023 11:27:52 +0100 black-ribbons-candles-ex-pope-benedicts-german-home-region-in-mourning German Chancellor Olaf Scholz paid tribute to former pope Benedict XVI, who died Saturday aged 95, as a "special church leader" who helped shape the Catholic church. https://www.thelocal.de/20221231/chancellor-scholz-remembers-former-pope-benedict-as-formative-figure Sat, 31 Dec 2022 13:48:48 +0100 chancellor-scholz-remembers-former-pope-benedict-as-formative-figure The declining health of former pontiff Benedict XVI has sparked a wave of emotion in the region of Bavaria where he was born, while the controversies that marked his time in office remain vivid for many. https://www.thelocal.de/20221229/prayers-and-emotion-in-ailing-ex-pope-benedicts-german-home-region Thu, 29 Dec 2022 15:57:24 +0100 prayers-and-emotion-in-ailing-ex-pope-benedicts-german-home-region Germany's largest mosque will for the first time broadcast the call to prayer on Friday after city authorities in Cologne gave the go-ahead for a pilot project, under strict limits. https://www.thelocal.de/20221013/colognes-mega-mosque-to-start-calling-muslims-to-prayer Thu, 13 Oct 2022 15:54:03 +0200 colognes-mega-mosque-to-start-calling-muslims-to-prayer You might not have the day off today, but many people across the country do. The Catholic celebration of Mariä Himmelfahrt is a lesser known yet rather floral public holiday in many parts of southern Germany. https://www.thelocal.de/20170815/why-bavarians-are-busy-hanging-out-bouquets-on-mari-himmelfahrt Tue, 15 Aug 2017 15:11:10 +0200 why-bavarians-are-busy-hanging-out-bouquets-on-mari-himmelfahrt The director general of Documenta, one of the world's biggest art fairs, was forced to resign on Saturday following outrage over anti-Semitic exhibits upon opening in Germany last month. https://www.thelocal.de/20220717/top-german-art-show-director-quits-in-anti-semitism-row Sun, 17 Jul 2022 19:06:31 +0200 top-german-art-show-director-quits-in-anti-semitism-row Jewish leaders and Israel's embassy to Germany have voiced "disgust" over anti-Semitic images on display at Documenta, one of the world's biggest art fairs. https://www.thelocal.de/20220621/german-art-show-slammed-over-anti-semitic-images Tue, 21 Jun 2022 11:15:52 +0200 german-art-show-slammed-over-anti-semitic-images At least 600 young people were documented as having been abused by Catholic priests in the German diocese of Münster, but the actual number of victims could be 10 times higher, according to a report. https://www.thelocal.de/20220614/more-than-600-abuse-victims-in-german-diocese-of-munster Tue, 14 Jun 2022 11:13:27 +0200 more-than-600-abuse-victims-in-german-diocese-of-munster According to projections by experts, for the first time in centuries, more than 50 percent of the German population no longer belong to a church. https://www.thelocal.de/20220412/historic-break-church-goers-now-a-minority-in-germany Tue, 12 Apr 2022 17:39:20 +0200 historic-break-church-goers-now-a-minority-in-germany German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, whose archdiocese was the subject of a recent damning report into child sex abuses, said he was in favour of lifting the celibacy requirement for priests. https://www.thelocal.de/20220203/german-cardinal-urges-lifting-celibacy-rule-for-priests Thu, 03 Feb 2022 10:27:57 +0100 german-cardinal-urges-lifting-celibacy-rule-for-priests