After Backlash, German Diocese Stops Working with Planned Parenthood Affiliate

In 2013, a German newspaper reported that in the 1980s and 1990s Pro Familia's magazine advocated “pedophile-friendly views.”

Bishop Franz Jung of Würzburg, Germany.
Bishop Franz Jung of Würzburg, Germany. (photo: Screenshot / YouTube)

Following complaints by survivors of sexual abuse, a German diocese has announced it will no longer cooperate with a Planned Parenthood-affiliated organization, given accusations of “spreading pedophile-friendly views” in previous decades.

As CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, reported, the Diocese of Würzburg announced on Wednesday it would cease its cooperation with the abortion-supporting organization that calls itself Pro Familia as “soon as possible."

Bishop Franz Jung had announced this affiliation in March 2022, saying his diocese had asked the organization to “offer a first point of contact outside church structures for those affected [by sexual abuse] and their relatives.”

In a statement released April 20, the diocese cited concerns raised by the abuse survivors' council, or Betroffenenbeirat. The body had pointed out that Pro Familia not only has a pro-abortion stance, but also stood accused of pushing for a “decriminalization of pedosexuality” in previous decades.

The German newspaper Tagesspiegel, in a investigation in 2013, reported that in the 1980s and 1990s Pro Familia's magazine advocated “pedophile-friendly views.”

It is unclear why the Catholic bishop chose a pro-abortion organization. Also unknown is what organization will replace Pro Familia in assisting with counseling victims of sexual abuse in the southern German diocese.

Pro Familia states on the International Planned Parenthood Federation website that it “advocates for the rights to individual self-determination in sexuality and family planning and is committed nationally and internationally to sexual and reproductive health and rights."

The organization also offers “LGBTQIA+ counseling.”

Ahead of his March announcement of “immediate” affiliation with Pro Familia, Jung on Feb. 9 issued a statement assuring employees of the Bavarian diocese they would not face repercussions for living a homosexual lifestyle or identifying as LGBTIQ.

Jung is one of several German bishops that have expressed support for blessings of same-sex couples, while churches displayed LGBT pride flags.

Pope Francis and other participants attend the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions at the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation in Nur-Sultan on Sept. 15.

Kazakhstan, German Synodal Way and Planned Parenthood’s New Business (Sept. 17)

Pope Francis went to Kazakhstan this week to visit the small Catholic community there as well as attend a congress for leaders of world religions. AC Wimmer, an editor and journalist for EWTN News, joins us on Register Radio to discuss the papal trip as well the latest news of the German ‘synodal path.’ Then we turn to Register national reporter Lauretta Brown to look at Planned Parenthood’s thriving ‘transgender services’ business and how a growing number of people are speaking out against the adverse effects of so-called gender transition.