Wednesday, September 09, 2026

Speyer youths want open and courageous bishop

Young people from the diocese of Speyer want an open, honest and facing bishop who listens and has young people in mind. 

According to the diocese of Tuesday, they also expect to assume social responsibility and show attitude. He should stand up against wars and racism, support socially disadvantaged people and campaign for equality.

On Saturday, around 150 young applicants had dealt with the desired profile of a new bishop at a Zukunftswerkstatt. 

The further development of the Church was also important to the young people according to the diocese: innovations in how the synodal path of the Church in Germany initiated them should be further advanced. 

The young people want a church that is more interesting and attractive to them. These included creative worship services and offers especially for young people. 

Their wish: The Church should be a place where all people are accepted and treated equally and queer diversity is also visible.

After the resignation of Bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann, the cathedral chapter now draws up a list of three with proposals, which it considered suitable for the office of bishop. 

According to the Bavarian Concordat, the pope selects a bishop from the named three candidates, but is not bound to this list.