Thomas Schüller, an expert in church law from Münster, considers an exclusion of AfD members from Catholic associations legally possible. However, statutes and election regulations would have to be changed accordingly, he told the Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) on the weekend. He was reacting to a corresponding proposal by the President of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), Irme Stetter-Karp, who had previously said that in her view AfD membership was incompatible with holding a church office: “Actively supporting the AfD contradicts the fundamental values of Christianity.”
Legally, every association could not only deny members of this party offices, but even membership, Schüller emphasised. For in an association there is always freedom of admission: “And there the Catholic youth associations, but also adult associations, could indeed include a provision not to admit AfD members to associations on principle and also to exclude them from the association again.”
However, according to the expert on canon law, an amendment to the statutes that is exclusively directed against the AfD could be problematic. A more general formulation would be better, according to which applicants for admission to a Catholic association or even current members cannot be admitted or dismissed from the association “who behave in a manner detrimental to the association in the sense of racist, anti-Semitic statements”.
Contempt for humanity has no place in Catholic organisations
Stetter-Karp had declared that she rejected the assumption of lay church offices by AfD members. For it is “clear that anti-Semitic, racist, inhuman attitudes and statements have no place in a Catholic organisation”. However, statutes and election regulations would have to be checked for such a rejection.
Criticism from “Christians in the AfD”
Munich law professor Stefan Korioth explained to BR that the church, as a religious community, has the possibility to ensure compatibility with its views when accessing offices: “But to pre-sort in such a sweeping way is not unproblematic.” The AfD is not a banned party. The Church even recommends political involvement.
Strong criticism of Stetter-Karp’s initiative came from members of the “Christians in the AfD”. Among other things, they stated that the AfD was the only party that spoke out “without any ifs and buts for the Christian values of the protection of life at the beginning and end of human life”. Moreover, such exclusion would end up harming the Church through further polarisation.
Source / https://cathcon.blogspot.com/2023/08/canon-lawyer-wants-to-exclude-extreme.html