German bishops' liaison says AfD cannot call itself a Christian party

Fr. Karl Jüsten, director of the German bishops' liaison office to the federal government, has publicly rejected the idea that Alternative for Germany (AfD) can call itself a "Christian" party while pushing remigration policies. He spoke on August 31 at the first public appearance of Archbishop Hubertus Matheus Maria van Megen as apostolic nuncio to Germany. In the speech he described the AfD's platform as "incompatible" with both Catholic Church teaching and the German constitution.

Jüsten was speaking at the annual reception of the Catholic Office of Saxony. He criticized the AfD's aim of "marginalizing" a "religious community" because of its "cultural foreignness," a direct reference to Muslim migrants. "Where a community breaks the law, the rule of law steps in. But it does not condemn an entire religion in advance," he said.

Rhetoric and actions

Jüsten directed his criticism at the AfD, which he accused of showing "hostility" toward the Church on immigration. "Anyone who weakens the churches weakens a vital part of our lived community. And in the end, it is not church leaders who are affected. It is the people who depend on these services," he said.

He said "the AfD invokes Christianity as culture but opposes the churches: (the AfD) wants the Christian label, but not the Caritas that welcomes strangers. Not the Church that defends the dignity of every person." Jüsten added that "anyone who limits the Church to worship alone and disputes its active charity has not understood the essence of the Church."

Security context and political tensions

The debate follows a series of terrorist attacks and attempted attacks carried out by Muslim migrants in Germany and other European countries over the past year. In December 2025, five Muslim men were arrested for allegedly planning an attack on a Christmas market in Bavaria. In July, a suspected Islamist terrorist killed one person and injured about 30 at an LGBT event in Berlin.

Another factor may lie behind Jüsten's position on the AfD: criticism of Germany's Synodal Way by Catholic members of the party. Nicole Höchst, a Catholic AfD politician, has denounced that process as an attempt to create a "separate sect" of the Church because it includes blessings of same-sex unions and the ordination of women, which in her view "leads to a schism."