#EU #Germany – The Catholic Women’s Association of Germany (kfd), the country’s largest Catholic women’s organization with approximately 265,000 members, adopted a provocative position paper at its national assembly in Mainz earlier this month, demanding that abortions be performed in Catholic hospitals and criticizing pro-life advocates.
The document, titled “Between the Protection of Life and Self-Determination: Positions and Perspectives of the kfd on Section 218 of the German Criminal Code,” was passed by a large majority during the June 4-6 gathering. It called for abortions to be available in Catholic facilities to address what the group described as a gap in care that endangers the physical and mental health of women with unwanted pregnancies. The paper also advocated for free contraception, improved sexual education, and comprehensive medical and psychological support for those undergoing abortions.
In a notable section, the kfd distanced itself from “so-called pro-lifers,” characterizing some as holding “völkisch-nationalist/racist, homo- and transphobic” views or downplaying the Holocaust. The organization emphasized holding the tension between respect for unborn life and women’s right to self-determination and conscience.
The stance quickly drew sharp rebukes from Church leaders. Emeritus Bishop Heinz Josef Algermissen of Fulda, chairman of the pro-life group Seelsorge für das Leben, condemned the paper on June 11 as “not Catholic.” He described the demand for abortions in Catholic hospitals as “completely unacceptable and downright intolerable,” arguing that abortion is not a healthcare service and that an unwanted pregnancy is not an illness. Algermissen and others, including the pro-life organization ALfA, criticized the document for showing a lack of information on Church teaching.
The kfd, which operates in around 3,400 parishes and advocates for women’s interests in the Church, politics, and society, has a history of issuing position papers on topics such as women’s roles, sexuality, and social issues. Its latest document followed a two-year consultation process involving experts in medicine, ethics, law, and theology.
Images from kfd events shared widely on social media showed participants, many older women, holding signs at protests calling for female preachers (“Predigerinnen”), diversity (“Leben ist Vielfalt”), and equal rights for women (“gleichberechtigt”).
Catholic teaching, as reiterated by bishops and aligned with longstanding Vatican positions, holds that abortion is gravely immoral except in cases where it is an unintended consequence of saving the mother’s life. Catholic hospitals in Germany and elsewhere follow the Church’s Ethical and Religious Directives, which prohibit direct abortions.
As of Tuesday, the controversy continued to fuel debate on social media and among German Catholics, with many calling for stronger disciplinary measures against the group while others defended the kfd’s focus on women’s pastoral needs. The German bishops’ conference had not issued a unified response at the time of reporting.
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