Another German Diocese Introduces Lay Baptisms

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Only a "First Step": Another German Diocese Introduces Lay Baptisms

gloria.tv | October 14, 2022


Bishop Gebhard Fürst of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, Germany, allows lay people to baptise regularly (letter to priests below). The Diocese of Essen introduced the same regulation in March.

Auxiliary Bishop Karrer told a press conference on 13 October that this innovation was in line with "the desire of many families for baptism to be individual, personal and familiar." The number of baptisms in Germany is declining dramatically.

At the same press conference, church-tax theologian Ursula Renner called this only a "first step". She wants lay people to celebrate weddings and [invalidly] administer anointing of the sick and confirmation.