The Deutsch-Kathollsche Kirche (German Catholic Church) or, more properly, Wahre Kirche Gottes Des Herm Und Seiner Helligen (True Church of the Lord God and His Saints) is a schismatic Christian denomination that promotes reactionary views against cyberware, magic and other developments of the Sixth World [1] [2] [3]. More recently, the GCC has experienced its own schism and many members have become more accepting of magic and metahumanity [4].
History[]
In 2014, the Conference of Bishops called by Pope John XXV began the work to integrate the Awakening into Roman Catholic doctrine, leading to the Awakened Schism and the issuing of the Imago Dei encyclical in 2024 [5]. Under the leadership of Cardinal Bernhard Freiherr von Heeremann, the diocese of Münster in the Free State of Westphalia separated from the Church on March 15th of 2014, immediately after the Conference [3]. Cardinal von Heeremann and his followers preferred the more traditional approach of John XXV's predecessor, Pope John Paul IV, in condemning magic, cyberware, metahumanity and the Awakening itself as heretical to Christian teachings [1] [3]. The German people responded to the escalating violence of the schism by passing laws that cemented the final separation of church and state in the nation [5].
Cardinal von Heeremann established the headquarters of the German Catholic Church in Münster and most of its adherents are from the Free State of Westphalia [6]. Initially, Roman Catholics remained dominant in Germany, but by 2050 approximately 13% of the German population considered themselves German Catholic (compared to 8% Roman Catholic) [7]. By 2063, German Catholics had risen to 22% (though notable Roman Catholics also increased their ratio to 17%) [8].
The prohibition against magic was softened somewhat when in 2041 Münster University established a Department of Theurgy, a school of hermetic magic described as a sort of Christian mysticism. A surprising number of Westphalians are magically talented and those that study Theurgy are referred to as Spökenkieker [9].
In 2061, as SURGE struck Westphalia particularly hard (it had the highest number of confirmed changelings in the German states), Cardinal von Heeremann inexplicably reversed the course of the Kirche's anti-Awakened stance, embracing changelings as sent by God to test the faithful. As a result, the violent outbreaks and panic witnessed across the globe did not touch Westphalia. It did, however, cause a rift within the Kirche not dissimilar to the rift in the Roman Catholic Church that spawned it in the first place.[4].
The first diplomatic delegation since the schism almost five decades previous was sent to Vatican City in 2063, but the plane carrying the delegation crashed in southern Austria, wiping out the delegation. Suspects for the disaster include the Bishops' Guard and archconservative Austrian clergy [4].
When the Papacy appointed known technomancer Ronald Grimes to the Bishopric of Boston in 2072, the Kirche recognized the appointment, perhaps signaling a continued shift towards a more liberal view of the changes wrought in the Sixth World [10].
Politics[]
The Kirche has two main political associations. Its 'official' political branch is the Ritter Christi (Christian Knights) [1]. More significant, however, is their association with the nationalist, conservative Deutschnationale Partel. The DNP is particularly favored by large scale agricorps and church authorities, to the point that by 2054 the Kirche was reading the words of its chairman, Justus Hagen Freiherr von Doberein, and membership in any other party was considered sinful [11]. The Westphalian Bishops' Guard are something of a military offshoot of the Kirche and serve as a special operations division for hardliners of the Kirche [4].
As of 2054, the Kirche and President-Bishop Freiherr von Heeremann have absolute control over Westphalia, making it the most conservative, xenophobic region in Europe, if not north of the equator [12].
Real World References[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Germany Sourcebook p. 41
- ↑ Shadows of Europe p. 44
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Sixth World Almanac p. 25 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "swa25" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Shadows of Europe p. 51
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Germany Sourcebook p. 24
- ↑ Germany Sourcebook p. 75
- ↑ Germany Sourcebook p. 12
- ↑ Shadows of Europe p. 46
- ↑ Germany Sourcebook p. 100
- ↑ Sixth World Almanac p. 149
- ↑ Germany Sourcebook p. 37
- ↑ Germany Sourcebook p. 98
Index[]
1st Edition
- Germany Sourcebook pp. 12, 24, 37, 41, 75, 98-101
3rd Edition
- Shadows of Europe pp. 44, 46, 51, 97-99
4th Edition
- Sixth World Almanac p. 25, 149