Germany must stop seeing refugees as a general threat, the council chairman of the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD) said on Sunday, calling the political debate over asylum seekers “dangerous” because it focuses on deterrence and deportation.
“It’s about people, not numbers,” said Kirsten Fehrs in the southern German city of Würzburg, where the EKD synod was meeting for its annual meeting.
In the wake of both the US election result with global consequences and the crumbling of the German coalition, Fehrs said: “The world is in shock and many people are experiencing increasing uncertainty and fear.”
“I hope that our country will regain its political base,” said the theologian and Bishop of Hamburg. “Democracy thrives on stable institutions.”
The synod, the church parliament of the EKD, Germany’s largest Protestant denomination, is holding meetings in Würzburg until Wednesday. The main topic of this year’s conference is ‘Refuge, migration and human rights’.
In his welcome speech, the chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, emphasized the importance of the fundamental right to asylum for those facing political persecution.
The synod’s president, Anna-Nicole Heinrich, said earlier: “Every person has the same dignity – no matter where they come from.”
She said this is often ignored in the heated debate over restricting and deporting migrants. “As churches we will continue to protect the weak and stand up for the human rights of refugees.”
Monday’s agenda is expected to focus on preventing and tackling sexual violence.
Last year, then EKD council chairman Annette Kurschus came under pressure during the meeting of the 128 synod members, because she allegedly knew years ago that a church employee was behaving in a sexually offensive way at the time.
The theologian denied this but resigned as council president and president of the Westphalian Church to avoid creating headlines that could harm victims of sexual violence if they remained in office, she said at the time.
The chairman of the EKD council, who will succeed Hamburg Bishop Fehrs for the remaining years of the current term of office until 2027, will be elected on Tuesday.
As the umbrella organization for twenty regional churches, the Hanover-based EKD represents 16.8 million Protestants in 12,500 congregations.
