At the end of January, the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian ally the Christian Social Union (CSU), the neoliberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party voted together for much stricter asylum rules, triggering a heated debate that has yet to subside.

Before the vote, the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD) and the Catholic German Bishops' Conference (DBK) wrote a joint letter to all parliamentarians urgently warning against such collaboration. The letter was signed by leading figures from the two denominations, prelates Anne Gidion and Karl Jüsten.

Gidion and Jüsten head the liaison offices for federal politics of their respective churches, meaning that their word carries weight in Berlin. But their warning was heeded neither by the conservative CDU/CSU bloc nor the FDP.

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Even though surveys show that two-thirds of the German population is in favor of tightening asylum rules, half is against relying on votes from the AfD to pass any motions or laws. There was thus considerable........

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