As AfD eyes breakthrough, bishop says ‘vote consciously’
Bishop Gerhard Feige of the Diocese of Magdeburg launched the "Bewusst Wählen!" initiative urging Saxony-Anhalt voters to prioritize charity, dialogue, human dignity, and solidarity when voting in the September 6 state election. The initiative warns that a potential AfD majority could threaten Church funding, as the party’s manifesto proposes changes to state payments that compensate for historical church property seizures. The AfD’s July manifesto would keep overall funding but redistribute it proportionally to Christian communities, restrict spending to clergy salaries and maintenance, and require proof of expenditure. The diocese fears that such reforms could undermine the Church’s financial stability and its ability to serve its congregants.
about 1 month ago
The Catholic Diocese of Magdeburg has launched the “Bewusst Wählen!” campaign, urging the more than 2 million residents of Saxony‑Anhalt to vote with an eye toward charity, dialogue, human dignity and solidarity, and to reject the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. 1
Bishop Gerhard Feige argues that the AfD’s platform is rooted in “racial nationalism” and that its election posters—slogans such as “Deport from minute one” and “Take your country back”—contradict Christian values. 1
He also points to the party’s proposals to overhaul the state‑funded payments (“Staatsleistungen”) that support the Catholic and Protestant churches, and to end the state’s role in collecting church tax, which he says would threaten the financially vulnerable Diocese of Magdeburg. 1
Recent Infratest dimap polling shows the AfD leading with about 41 percent of the vote in the September 6 state election, ahead of the CDU at 24 percent. 1
To secure an outright majority, the AfD would need roughly 49 of the 97 seats, or as low as 44 percent of the vote if smaller parties fail to pass the 5 percent threshold. 1
Even if the AfD tops the poll but falls short of a majority, other parties have pledged to maintain the “firewall” (Brandmauer) policy of refusing coalition talks with the AfD, a strategy that has so far prevented the party from governing any German state. 1
Feige warns that a Saxony‑Anhalt victory could serve as a “pilot project” for the AfD at the federal level, influencing national politics if the party uses the state as a stepping stone. 1
The AfD’s lead candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, a former Catholic who left the Church in 2017, has been labeled “Germany’s most dangerous man” by Der Spiegel, and his campaign includes calls for the German flag to be flown at every school and for regular national‑anthem singing—practices the bishop associates with the Nazi era. 1
In 2024, the German bishops issued a joint statement declaring that Catholics should not vote for the AfD, citing the party’s “racial‑nationalist attitude.” 1
The “Bewusst Wählen!” initiative places banners outside Magdeburg’s St. Sebastian Cathedral, reinforcing the diocese’s call for a conscious vote that protects both religious freedom and the social teachings of the Church. 1
Bishop urges voters to prioritize charity, dialogue, and human dignity
The bishop’s appeal reflects a distinctly Catholic approach to political participation: voters should evaluate candidates not merely by party, ideology, or personal benefit, but by their concern for human dignity, the common good, and the vulnerable.
For Catholic teaching, charity is not limited to private acts of generosity. It should shape social and political engagement as “social charity”—a commitment to ordering society toward the good of others. The USCCB identifies this as including care for the poor, defense of marriage, and protection of human life, especially the weak, voiceless, and vulnerable.
This does not mean voters must support a particular party or candidate. The Church “cannot champion any candidate or party”; her political concern is the defense of life, dignity, and the vulnerable. Charity therefore requires both compassion and moral seriousness: policies must be judged by how they affect real people, particularly those who have the least power to defend themselves.
The call for dialogue should not be confused with abandoning Catholic convictions. Catholic dialogue involves listening respectfully, seeking understanding, and cooperating on matters of common concern while remaining faithful to truth. The Church’s guidance describes dialogue as an attitude of “respect and friendship,” directed toward mutual understanding and the common good.
The USCCB likewise urges Catholics to be frank about their beliefs while continuing to seek points of contact and work with others. It warns that anger, bitterness, slander, and demonization contradict Christian discipleship.
Thus, a Catholic voter should be willing to:
Public events and symbolic gestures are insufficient substitutes for serious engagement with candidates and political leaders.
Human dignity is the foundation of Catholic social and moral teaching. Because every person is created in God’s image, political decisions must respect human life and the intrinsic worth of every person. Pope Benedict XVI specifically emphasized the inviolable dignity of the human person “from conception to death,” while also connecting that defense with practical love for those in need.
This perspective requires a broad moral evaluation. Serious threats include abortion, euthanasia, violence, human trafficking, racism, injustice toward the poor, the suffering of migrants and refugees, war, inadequate healthcare and education, and threats to religious freedom. Catholics therefore should not reduce voting to a single preference or economic interest, even though some issues may carry greater moral weight than others.
The bishops teach that voters should focus especially on what protects or threatens the dignity of every human life, rather than concentrating only on party affiliation, ideology, or material well-being.
Catholic voters are often faced with candidates whose positions are mixed or morally deficient. The Church does not require political perfection, but it does require a properly formed conscience and prudent judgment. When every available candidate supports an intrinsically evil position, the USCCB permits the serious consideration of voting for the candidate less likely to advance that position and more likely to pursue other genuine human goods.
This judgment should be made carefully—not through fear, tribal loyalty, or online outrage. Catholics are encouraged to form their consciences through prayer, Scripture, the sacraments, service to the poor, and careful consideration of concrete policies and the candidates’ character.
The bishop’s message is best understood not as an endorsement of political neutrality, but as a call to morally responsible citizenship. Charity governs the manner of political engagement; dialogue protects social unity and makes persuasion possible; human dignity supplies the essential standard by which political choices are judged.
A Catholic voter should therefore pursue the common good with a conscience formed by truth, defend those most vulnerable, reject contempt for opponents, and evaluate candidates according to both their policies and their integrity.