Education Minister Annette Schavan flew to a personal audience with Pope Benedict XVI using a military jet, at a cost of around €150,000 – despite commercial flights being available - according to a report in <i>Der Spiegel</i>.
The German government is launching a new, aggressive effort to protect children and young people from abuse in families, schools and places of worship.
Benedict XVI’s address to the German parliament made waves before he had even set foot in the Reichstag building. The Local’s media roundup assess the impact.
During a sometimes emotional mass at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium Thursday evening, Pope Benedict XVI called on Germans to stand together with the Catholic Church despite recent scandal and controversy.
Pope Benedict XVI warned on Thursday Europe risked losing its cultural identity at a time when it was being challenged by foreign extremism, in a landmark yet controversial speech to the German parliament.
As Pope Benedict XVI addressed the German parliament, <b>Erin Huggins</b> took to the sealed-off streets of central Berlin to see who was demonstrating against him.
Pope Benedict XVI's first state visit to his German homeland begins in Berlin Thursday with the threat of angry protests and the lingering taint of Church sexual abuse scandals set to cloud his welcome.
As <b>Pope Benedict XVI</b> arrives for an official four-day visit to Germany on Thursday, The Local asked the opinion of average people on the street for the first instalment of our new <b>Zeitgeist</b> series.
Pope Benedict XVI faces a clamour for change as he heads to Germany on Thursday for his first state visit, with calls for reform on many fronts – from recognising gays to ordaining women to the priesthood.
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday called for Christians to unite against the advance of secularism as she prepared to welcome Pope Benedict XVI on a landmark visit back to his native Germany.
Pope Benedict XVI’s official visit to Germany next week will be accompanied by unprecedented security measures, including ordering residents not to open their windows when the pontiff's motorcade passes and relocating a Muslim extremist.
Members of The Left party are boycotting the pope's speech to the German parliament during an official visit to Berlin later this month. For Der Tagesspiegel’s Malte Lehming, leftist attitudes toward Catholicism are no different from right-wing populist bigotry against Islam.
As preparations are finalised for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Germany at the end of the month, a number of MPs have declared they will boycott his speech to parliament.
Germany's parliamentary vote on Europe's next rescue fund will be delayed until September 29 owing to a visit by Pope Benedict XVI, a leading member of Angela Merkel's ruling party said Tuesday.
Berlin’s openly gay Mayor Klaus Wowereit has extended the Pope an official welcome for his visit next month, but said he could understand those planning to protest against the papal visit.
Several Social Democratic parliamentarians are planning to boycott the speech Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to give to the Bundestag in September. They accuse the pontiff of oppressing millions around the world.
Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to his birth country in September is booking out, with one church service already oversubscribed by eager Catholic worshippers and more than 120,000 ticket requests logged for his five public events.
Want to see the pope during his visit to Germany in September? Those interested in attending services in Berlin, Erfurt or Freiburg can now register online, Catholic Church officials have announced.
