‘Survey: One in three Catholics in Germany thinking of leaving Church’

Roman Catholic Cathedral in Cologne, Germany (Velvet)

The Catholic News Agency reports that a third of Roman Catholics in Germany are thinking of leaving that church:

Survey: One in three Catholics in Germany thinking of leaving Church

A third of all German Catholics are considering leaving the Church, according to a new survey published on Thursday.

The representative study, unveiled March 11, was conducted by the Erfurt-based opinion research institute INSA Consulere on behalf of the Catholic weekly newspaper Die Tagespost and the Protestant news agency Idea. It confirms a previous survey’s findings that indicated similar numbers.

Of those surveyed who belong to the Catholic Church, 33% are considering leaving the church because of the ongoing scandals over the handling of clerical sex abuse cases, while 44% said that they were not going to turn their back on the Church. A further 14% of respondents indicated that they “didn’t know.” Nine percent of those involved in the survey did not specify an answer.

CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, reported that the new survey also found that one in four members of the Protestant regional churches in Germany said they might be “leaving the church soon.”

In 2019, a total of 272,771 German Catholics formally left the Church — more than ever before. The figures for 2020 will not be published until the northern hemisphere’s summer.

The abuse crisis is not the only reason for the exodus. According to a study by the northern German diocese of Osnabrück, older Catholics in particular cite the Church’s handling of the abuse crisis as a reason for leaving, CNA Deutsch reported. Younger people, however, are more likely to deregister as Catholics to avoid paying the obligatory church tax. …

If an individual is registered as a Catholic in Germany, 8-9% of their income tax goes to the Church. The only way they can stop paying the tax is to make an official declaration renouncing their membership. They are no longer allowed to receive the sacraments or a Catholic burial. 03/12/21 https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/survey-one-in-three-catholics-in-germany-thinking-of-leaving-church

While the tax is a reason, the Roman clergy sex scandals are a major factor

Now the scandals and this desire to leave the Roman Church is not an entirely new development. Here is something I reported here back in 2010:

GERMANY: Nearly a quarter of Germany’s 25 million Catholics are considering turning their backs on their Church in the wake of the child abuse scandals, a survey published Friday found. The poll of more than 1,000 Catholics by the Forsa Institute published by daily Bild, found 23 percent of Church members said they were thinking of leaving. http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100423-26739.html)

AUSTRIA: More Austrians than ever in history are expected to leave the Catholic Church this year.

Official figures from today (Thurs) show that 30,004 people left the Church in the first three months of this year, up by 42 per cent compared to the same time span of 2009 when more people than ever cancelled their membership. http://austrianindependent.com/news/General_News/2010-04-22/2247/Record_2010_Church_exodus_expected_after_whopping_first-quarter_figures)

While nearly everyone has been aware of the scandals, few people do seem to be aware that these scandals may actually help fulfill an old Roman Catholic prophecy.

Notice the following written several centuries ago:

Venerable Bartholomew Holzhauser (Born in the 17th century, in Germany). The fifth period of the Church, which began circa 1520, will end with the arrival of the Holy Pope and of the powerful Monarch…The Great Monarch will come when the Latin Church is desolated, humiliated, and afflicted with many heresies (Dupont, Yves. Catholic Prophecy: The Coming Chastisement. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), 1973, pp. 38, 114).

Nicholas of Fluh (15th century): The Church will be punished because the majority of her members, high and low, will become so perverted. (Dupont, p. 30)

The pedophile and other sex scandals have humiliated the Church of Rome (“the Latin Church” to distinguish it from the Eastern/Greek church), hence if the above prediction is correct, then we are very near the time that the “Beast” leader will rise up. People leaving it may contribute to it being “desolated”.

According to an Eastern Orthodox book, the “Great Monarch” is also supposed to rise up during the time there are “very impious priests” (Tzima Otto, p. 53; see also The Great Monarch: Biblical and Catholic Prophecies)–which would be consistent with the whole sex scandal issue among the Roman Catholic priesthood.

The Great Monarch that the prophecy speaks about shares many similarities with the one that the Bible warns will rise up as the final Beast of Revelation and the the final King of the North in Daniel 11:21-44. If the above prediction by Holzhauser is correct, then it is possible that these sex scandals will be a factor involved in the humiliation of the Church of Rome for this time. There are many other Catholic private prophecies that suggest a time when Catholics will not have much respect for their church, but after a time of trouble, this is supposed to change and an ecumenical version of that church is expected to rise up.

Perhaps it should be mentioned that some others have noted similarities between the Great Monarch and the coming Beast-Antichrist power. Notice the following:

The tradition of the Great King and the Holy Pope…first emerged from the Tiburtine Sibyl, a work that may date back to AD 380-400…Catholic writer Paul Thigpen warns, “Looking for the Great Monarch, then, who does not appear in Scripture, might lead to overlooking the Antichrist who does…It might even lead to…mistaking the Antichrist for the Great Monarch…” (Penn L. False dawn: the United Religions Initiative, globalism, and the quest for a one-world religion. Sophia Perennis, 2005, p. 420).

The Bible warns about a time when the Beast and False Prophet rise up. These individuals share characteristics to the “Great Monarch” and an “antipope” foretold in various Catholic prophecies.

Whether or not there is any accuracy to these “private revelation”, according to biblical prophecy, we are very near the time when the “Beast” leader and “false prophet/Antichrist” will rise up.

What will bring the Europeans to embrace religion in mass?

The Bible points to marvelous military success and economic domination along with signs and lying wonders:

3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:3-8)

11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. (Revelation 13:11-18)

7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12)

That being said, the sex scandals may be a piece of the puzzle for certain end time prophetic events to line up.

The Vatican and its followers truly have found them to be “humiliating”, which is what Holzhauser seems to have wrote.

Yet, despite people in Germany wanting to leave the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, after various events and signs, the Bible shows nearly all will embrace the ecumenical imperial religion that will be forced upon Europe.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? In the Spanish language check out ¿Quién es el Rey del Norte? Here are links to two related videos: The King of the North is Alive: What to Look Out For and The Future King of the North.
The Great Monarch: Biblical and Catholic Prophecies Is the ‘Great Monarch’ of Catholic prophecies endorsed or condemned by the Bible? Two sermons of related interest are also available: Great Monarch: Messiah or False Christ? and Great Monarch in 50+ Beast Prophecies.
Europa, the Beast, and the Book of Revelation discusses the largest church since the second/third century, which in a real sense is the eighth church mentioned in the Book of Revelation (it also endorses “eighth day” worship). What church would support the Beast? Here is a link to a video titled: Europe and the ‘Holy Roman Empire’.
Might German Baron Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg become the King of the North? Is the former German Defense Minister (who is also the former German Minister for Economics and Technology) one to watch? What do Catholic, Byzantine, and biblical prophecies suggest? A video of related interest would be: Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg and Europe’s Future.
Germany’s Assyrian Roots Throughout History Are the Germanic peoples descended from Asshur of the Bible? Have there been real Christians in Germanic history? What about the “Holy Roman Empire”? There is also a You-Tube video sermon on this titled Germany’s Biblical Origins.
Germany in Biblical and Catholic Prophecy Does Assyria in the Bible equate to an end time power inhabiting the area of the old Roman Empire? What does prophecy say Germany will do and what does it say will happen to most of the German people? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: Alemania en la profecía bíblic. Here are links to two English language sermon videos Germany in Bible Prophecy and The Rise of the Germanic Beast Power of Prophecy.
Satan’s Plan Does Satan have a plan? What is it? Has it already been successful? Will it be successful in the future? Here are links to a two-part sermon series: What are Some of the Parts of Satan’s Plan? and Satan’s Plan is More Dramatic than Many Realize.
Do Certain Catholic Prophecies About Antichrist Warn Against Jesus? Will the final “Anti-Christ” be Jewish, insist on Saturday, be opposed to the trinity, and bring in the millennium? Certain Catholic writings indicate this, while others take a different view, but what does the Bible show? A related sermon is Will Jesus Christ be called the Antichrist?
Catholic Prophecies: Do They Mirror, Highlight, or Contradict Biblical Prophecies? People of all faiths may be surprised to see what various Roman and Orthodox Catholic prophets have been predicting as many of their predictions will be looked to in the 21st century.
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism The CCOG is NOT Protestant. This free online book explains how the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants. Several sermons related to the free book are also available: Protestant, Baptist, and CCOG History; The First Protestant, God’s Command, Grace, & Character; The New Testament, Martin Luther, and the Canon; Eucharist, Passover, and Easter; Views of Jews, Lost Tribes, Warfare, & Baptism; Scripture vs. Tradition, Sabbath vs. Sunday; Church Services, Sunday, Heaven, and God’s Plan ; Seventh Day Baptists/Adventists/Messianics: Protestant or COG?; Millennial Kingdom of God and God’s Plan of Salvation; Crosses, Trees, Tithes, and Unclean Meats; The Godhead and the Trinity; Fleeing or Rapture?; and Ecumenism, Rome, and CCOG Differences.
Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God? and What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?