Cologne, St. Patrick’s Day 2021 [3/17/2021]
Dear Holy Father, dear pope Francis,
I’m a 65 year old former teacher, married to my wife B. and father to our three adult children M., M. and M. I’m doing a minor course of study of Theology at the KHKT (Koelner Hochschule fuer katholische Theologie). At first, I want to express that I very much appreciated your recent visit in Iraq and your support and encouragement of the remaining Christians there. I moreover am very thankful that you showed for years a way for a humbler church close to the people instead of a vain and self-satisfied church.
I’m writing to you since the Catholic church in Germany and even more in the diocese Cologne is on a steep decline. Some severe problems make people leave the church by hundreds per week. The people exiting the Catholic church are not those who want to spare their taxation money, these people have been gone a long time ago. In most cases at present the people leaving were faithful believers or even engaged as servers or occupied honorary posts. But now they can’t stand the neglecting of some problems by the leading persons in this diocese any more.