Christian Lauer’s final handwritten advice for WAC written near midnight on 26 January 2019:

We need topics that inspire people and inspire us. Subjects to which people say, I join in, I can do something about this in society and / or church. Topics where there is not the danger that they will be marked by resignation. The possible subjects / topics I can’t specify now, they should be decided on the basis of tactics.

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The longtime very active leading member of We Are Church (Germany) and our IT specialist died on January 29, 2019. At the strategy meeting of the We Are Church teams from Germany and Austria from 23 to 25 January 2019 in Hofheim, Christian Lauer, despite his long and serious illness, was still actively involved with his competence and passion. But only four days later he could no longer resist influenza.

We are very shaken that Christian's life came to an end so quickly. He had fought so hard and so long for his life and for We Are Church. We are very, very much obliged to him in many ways. For 20 years, he has done all the more extensive computer tasks of We Are Church in Germany all alone with great expertise. For the last ten years he has been the first chairman to guide the organization of We Are Church (DE). Above all, he has always been wholeheartedly committed to a church that truly follows in the footsteps of Jesus. He stays in our midst.

We Are Church Germany

We Are Church Germany Press Release 28 October 2018

"Unmissable learning process in Rome, necessary concrete implementations are near"

First statement of We are Church at the conclusion of the Youth Synod of Bishops in Rome

The Church Movement We are Church sees the 15th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which ended today in Rome, as an indispensable learning process for bishops. They owe to today's youth an appropriate as well as challenging offer of the message of Jesus. The success of this cooperation will also decisively determine the future of the church.

Despite the lack of voting possibilities, the 49 mostly younger auditors have been able to strongly influence the content and atmosphere of this synod. The letter from the young members of the Synod to Pope Francis shows their great willingness to support the necessary fundamental reform course with all their strength. The debates conducted in the protected space of the synod must now be continued in the universal Church in all freedom.

We are Church encourages the young people and all church bodies to call for and implement locally what was advocated in the Synod of Bishops. In the end, young people will judge the Church not on well-chosen words, but in concrete answers to the urgent challenges raised in Rome. In addition to migration, digitization, justice and the preservation of creation, this includes the equal status of men and women, the recognition of homosexual people and partnerships, and effective combating of sexual violence within and outside the church. But important and necessary is also a fundamental reform of traditional theology and biblical interpretation, as well as an adaptation of the liturgy to the thinking and feeling of young people today.

It is disappointing that the final document does not contain a clear admission of guilt for the decades-long cover-up of abuse by Catholic clergy. The dispute over the use of the term LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) in the "Instrumentum laboris", the working paper of the Synod, has, however, shown the great cultural diversity within the Roman Catholic world church, which can only be overcome through a further development of current teaching based on very different assumptions and habits.

The fact that all 167 sections received the required two-thirds majority can be seen as a success of the synodal process, which was already begun with the global survey and the Pre-synod in March 2018 and which it is essential to continue. For the first time, the Pope and bishops did not appear at this Synod not just as messengers of messages, but also as listeners. In principle, we welcome the expansion of the concept of vocation, which now no longer refers only to priests and religious.

We are Church supports the recent vote of the German-speaking religious leaders, who demand not only the right to vote in episcopal synods, but the admission to all ecclesiastical ministries and services for women (> catholic.de 25.10.2018).

Press Contacts We are Church-Bundesteam: 
Magnus Lux, Tel: 0176 41266392, E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Christian Weisner, Tel: 0172 5184082, E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

[Translation of the original German Press Release by Colm Holmes]