Record number of Germans left Catholic Church in 2022

By Associated Press

Jun 28, 2023 8:30 pm

BERLIN: More than half a million people formally left the Catholic Church in Germany last year, significantly higher than the previous record as the church wrestles with a long-running scandal over clerical abuse and with calls for far-reaching reform.

The German Bishops' Conference said on Wednesday that 522,821 left the church last year, up from 359,338 in 2021. That compared with just 1,447 people joining the Catholic Church, about the same as the previous year.

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