German Bishop Criticizes Politicians for Lack of Piety

The Chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Karl Lehmann, has urged politicians to become more religious. The Mainz-based bishop criticized in the mass-circulation daily Bild on Wednesday the fact that an increasing number of politicians took their oath of office without the additional sentence, "So help me God." "The impression that that gives, is overwhelmingly negative," Lehmann said. He stressed that many members of the government, who witnessed the student riots and rebellions in 1968, had adopted an anti-religious stance, and several politicians also considered it embarrassing to officially demonstrate their piety. Lehmann warned that the church shouldn’t accept such a position. The Bishop also weighed in over growing concerns that people are turning their backs on the church, saying that leaving the church had become trendy in certain quarters.