A defining mark of every German town is a church, but church attendance is in drastic decline. Hundreds of thousands of members are leaving both the Protestant and Catholic churches each year in Germany. But one man has risen as an advocate for the churches, reminding Germany of centuries of European history: former German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg.

There are indications that the baron, whose family has a long history with the Catholic faith, may help herald in a religious renaissance.

Guttenberg—who recently became a podcaster, author and documentary filmmaker—believes religion is an important aspect of society, especially as divisions grow and crises intensify. In a December 4 podcast with cohost Gregor Gysi, he stated: “Given the division of our society today, it would be good to extend some Christmas thoughts to the rest of the year.”

In an interview with Nürnberger Nachrichten last year, he said:

We are seeing breathtaking numbers of people leaving [the church] and the numbers are rising and rising. I am very concerned about the unifying, social power that churches could exert. But that’s overshadowed by scandals. … I think a reforming, stable church landscape is essential.

Guttenberg has repeatedly brought up this topic after his documentary last year detailing the crises of the Protestant and Catholic churches, Um Gottes willen? Die Macht der Kirche in Deutschland (For God’s Sake? The Power of the Churches in Germany). In an interview with n-tv, Guttenberg explained:

I believe people always need religion. No yoga mat can replace that. It’s a nice extra, but people still have so many unanswered questions in life, especially when it comes to death. We probably won’t get by without religion.

While he noted that believing helps him almost on a daily basis, he added:

But I confess that I don’t go to church every Sunday, and I don’t even have a piercingly guilty conscience about it. … I often meditate, even without a rosary—that suits me better. People have a longing for spirituality, and I welcome it when people try to come down, to reflect on themselves. Whether it’s on a church pew or on a yoga mat—which is much more comfortable in my eyes.

In conversation with Catholic broadcaster domradio.de on Dec. 7, 2023, he again emphasized that nothing can replace the power of the churches in society:

I don’t need to tell you what it would mean for social cohesion in our society if we were to completely do away with churches. What that would mean for the entire field of health care, nursing care, for what school authorities create, for kindergartens and so on. Of course, all of this is indispensable, important in my eyes. Nevertheless, the church must also realize, and it obviously does—albeit with a lot of internal controversy—that certain things need to be reoriented. This is imperative, because if you look at the number of people leaving, it is more than just a wake-up call. It’s an outcry that somehow doesn’t seem to have reached some people’s ears yet.

The Catholic Church’s centuries of achievement in Europe are unlike any other world religion. Guttenberg knows this history and seeks to revive the image of the church in Germany. “Guttenberg is playing their advocate, supporting the church like nobody else,” Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in “Watch This Man Closely.”

What exactly is Guttenberg’s vision for the Catholic Church and Germany?

Sunday Worship

Guttenberg was interviewed by the magazine Grandios, which has the stated goal of “anchoring Christian values in society.” Tobias Liminski, of a renowned Catholic family in Germany, interviewed Guttenberg about his personal faith and what religion offers to society. Liminski noted: “You publish your articles on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, as we Christians say.”

Guttenberg: [Yes, but] I write them on Saturday!

Tobias Liminski: Is it a coincidence that they are [published] on Sunday, the day God said that everything was good?

Guttenberg: I don’t want to elevate myself to that level …. But no, it’s no coincidence. It has always been important for me to see this Sunday as a necessary day for quiet reflection, not just to let oneself drift away with the troubles from the rest of the week on Sunday. As you know, I have a Christian background. Sunday played a certain role for me. You can’t expect people to do that today. You can’t expect that in a society where hardly everyone feels they belong to this Sunday image. Despite this, there can be one day a week, everyone can decide for themselves, when they can take advantage of offers that don’t correspond to the laws of everyday life.

That’s why I wanted to write them for Sunday. Now I had the opportunity to write them on Wednesday and then publish them on Sunday. But it has become so ingrained that it is actually always Saturday. …

Sunday is something where we used to traditionally take ourselves back into the human realm of coming together. Whether it was going to church, socializing, club activities or even playing soccer on a Sunday afternoon, all of that is withering away today. It is now only vaguely recognizable as what it once was.

Perhaps such a secularist mindset is more appealing in today’s society while still calling on people to rest on a day the Catholic Church enforced for centuries to distinguish itself from the biblical Sabbath. But the history of this church and Bible prophecy warns that Sunday worship will not remain voluntary. (Request a free copy of Who or What Is the Prophetic Beast?, by Herbert W. Armstrong.)

Reform Plans

While global membership of the Catholic Church has grown to 1.4 billion, many in the church are critical of Pope Francis. The crisis is particularly stark in Germany, where hundreds of thousands of members are leaving and many bishops rebel against the pope’s leadership.

In May, a report by the German Bishops’ Conference noted that the church needs “a process of reform and renewal in order to fulfill its mission.” German Catholics demand a stronger role for women in the church and changes to the church’s doctrine on sex. Such reforms could help bring unity with the Protestant Church.

Such demands have culminated in a so-called synodal process, which is tedious and brings few changes.

In the lead-up to his documentary’s release last year, Guttenberg did a podcast with Vatican expert Andreas Englisch, who has written about the Catholic Church for over three decades. Englisch told Guttenberg that German bishops cannot reform the Catholic Church without the pope’s blessings. Guttenberg has since echoed that sentiment, noting that “the tail cannot wag the dog.” These are “words the Vatican certainly loves to hear,” Mr. Flurry commented.

For his documentary, Guttenberg interviewed a devout Catholic woman who wants to become a priest, a transgender who studies theology, and a victim of sexual abuse. He makes a strong case for removing the church tax the German state takes out of people’s paychecks. Katholische.de concluded that the documentary offers “a differentiated, in the best sense of the word, easy-to-consume plea for a reform of the church in head and limbs.”

Personal Family History

The Holy Roman Empire has shaped Guttenberg’s family history. The first record of his noble family is from a.d. 1148. The Catholic family was initially named after the Plassenburg Castle. From a.d. 1331, the family was named after the Guttenberg Castle, where Guttenberg grew up. After briefly joining the Protestants in the 16th century, the family returned to Catholicism over the course of the 17th century, taking “on high ecclesiastical and secular offices in the Bamberg and Würzburg abbeys,” according to Historical Lexicon of Bavaria. Over the centuries, the family stayed close to both churches and still exercises patronage over the Protestant parish of Guttenberg.

Holy Roman Emperor Leopold i (1640–1705) elevated the Guttenberg dynasty to the status of Reichsfreiherr, which translates to “Baron of the Empire.” Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg is a descendant of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold ii (1747–1792) of the Habsburg dynasty. After 1806, when the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation officially dissolved, Reichsfreiherr was changed to Freiherr, a title Guttenberg still carries.

The Power of the Church

When asked, “The church is viewed so critically, but still has enormous power. How do you explain that?”, Guttenberg responded:

Apart from the fact that the church is one of the largest employers in the world and that the church has an incredible amount of money at its disposal (which is sometimes incredibly unfairly distributed), it is the brand factor that particularly interests me. And yes, I do worry about the church, but I’m not at all alarmed.

Many countries enforce a separation between church and state, partly due to evils such as the Crusades and the Inquisition. Yet some believe the power of a unified church and state should be utilized. The Bible reveals one man in the end time will restore these relations and indicates he will rise with the help of the Catholic Church. In 2005, Mr. Flurry explained:

I truly believe the Vatican will help bring that political leader on the scene, and that’s when we will really see the fireworks. We know from these prophecies that the Vatican will become very powerful and instigate some radical changes.

The Catholic Church has weathered many crises and has changed in the last 2,000 years more than any other institution on Earth. It should therefore come as no surprise that the Bible contains many detailed prophecies about the Catholic Church. The book of Revelation speaks of a church-state union prophesied to rise one more time. As crises continue, we expect the Catholic Church to get more involved. Mr. Flurry wrote in 2021:

This modern-day Holy Roman Empire is once again a church-state alliance—actually an empire guided by a religious power! We not only need to watch for the rise of a strongman to guide the empire, we need to watch for the rise of the Catholic Church’s influence over it.

Advocates like Guttenberg could help the Catholic Church regain power and influence in Europe. Request a free copy of The Holy Roman Empire in Prophecy for a detailed explanation.