A Catholic priest in the German state of Bavaria has dismissed an altar boy who served at his church for nine years, over a photo taken with a politician from the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, the young man’s family has said.
The AfD came in second in the federal election in February, claiming 20.8% of the vote – up from 10.4% in 2021. Despite the growing support, the anti-immigrant party remains ostracized by other major parties in the country and is typically branded ‘far-right’ by officials and media.
The young man took a photo with the AfD’s Maximilian Krah, who is now a member of the German parliament, at a party event ahead of the election and later shared it on social media, Passauer Neue Presse reported on Thursday, citing an open letter published by his family.
After the image appeared online, the priest of a church in Bavaria’s Regen District invited the altar boy for a conversation, which, the family said, resembled an “interrogation.”
According to the open letter, the priest called the young man a “Nazi” during the exchange and insisted that a Christian cannot share the positions of the AfD.
The family claimed that the pastor asked the boy: “If you think like a Nazi, talk like a Nazi, act like a Nazi, are you not a Nazi?”
He also handed him a pamphlet titled ‘Ethnic nationalism and Christianity are incompatible’, saying: “If you are brave enough, then read through this,” the letter said.
The family insisted that the young man is not a supporter of the AfD and that he had visited campaign events of various parties before the election due to a general interest in politics.
The dismissal came as a shock for the young man, who is very religious and was considering becoming a priest himself, the letter said. “Since the end of January, our son’s and also our whole family’s world has fallen apart.”
The Catholic Church’s Diocese of Passau in Bavaria has confirmed the dismissal of the altar boy. The diocese said in a statement that it supports “a free, democratic basic order,” but it is also interested in maintaining “dialogue with people who sympathize with problematic political positions.”
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The young man has been offered several times to return to his position as altar boy, but his family has not yet accepted the offers, the statement read.
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