Theresa Kimmel was enthusiastic. “For me it was a great honor and a unique experience. It was very nice to be so close to the Pope. The Holy Father asked us to take greetings home with us”, said the 14-year-old from the parish of Machtilshausen on New Year’s Day in Rome.

Bread and wine brought

Together with Fabian Martin (15) from Westheim and Sarah Volkl (14) from Elfershausen, Theresa was even allowed to take part in the offertory procession. Dressed in their carol singing costumes, the three young people brought bread and wine to the altar and presented the Holy Father with the New Year’s greetings of the children’s missionary organization “Die Sternsinger”.
“It was also a great honor for me to be present in St. Peter’s Basilica on behalf of the many carol singers. I was not so excited after the many rehearsals”, Fabian reported on the great experience. And Sarah joined in: “I wasn’t that excited, but when we walked up the stairs to the altar, it was a very great experience to be so close to the Holy Father. The Pope thanked us for the gifts and then asked us from which place in the diocese of Wurzburg we come.”
Prelate Klaus Kramer, president of the Children’s Missionary Society, who accompanied the group to the service, made it clear: “The theme of this year’s World Day of Peace is ‘educating youth for peace and justice.”
The carol singers have been making an important contribution to this for many years. “They work for peace and justice all over the world, this year especially for the rights of children”, said Kramer.
In his address at the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, the Holy Father expressly mentioned the group: “I especially greet the carol singers from the diocese of Wurzburg and all those who are proclaiming the Christmas message as carol singers during these days.”
The little and big kings from the parish community of Saalekreuz were in Rome around the turn of the year. For the eighth time since 2001, carol singers brought the gifts for the Eucharist to the altar in St. Peter’s Basilica on New Year’s Day.
The sponsors of the Epiphany campaign are the children’s missionary organization “Die Sternsinger” and the Federation of German Catholic Youth (BDKJ). Since its start in 1959, the campaign has developed into the world’s largest solidarity campaign by children for children. Almost 772 million euros have been collected since then.
More than 60,800 projects for disadvantaged children in Africa, Latin America, Asia, Oceania and Eastern Europe were supported.
At the 53. campaign at the beginning of 2011, the girls and boys from 11,622 parishes, schools and kindergartens had collected around 41.8 million euros.
In the diocese of Wurzburg, 1,262,657.21 euros were collected in 720 parishes of the diocese. With the funds raised, the “Aktion Dreikonigssingen” supports projects worldwide in the areas of education, health, pastoral care, nutrition, social integration and rehabilitation as well as emergency aid.

She could understand the question, Merkel told reporters on the sidelines of the G20 summit, when asked to clarify what was behind the tremors and whether she had consulted a doctor about them. “But I have nothing special to report. But I am doing well.”

The chancellor had suffered her second violent tremor in a few days during a public appearance in Berlin on Thursday shortly before her departure for Japan. During the appointment of Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, she was shaking all over. When she subsequently moved again, the seizure ended.

The “Stuttgarter Zeitung” and the “Stuttgarter Nachrichten” had quoted government circles on Friday, according to which Merkel’s renewed trembling fit was psychologically caused. It is not a health problem, but a matter of the head. “The memory of the incident last week led to the situation today, so a psychological processing process.”

An agency is currently marketing the district of Bad Kissingen with the slogan “Things are better here”. The posters for example hang also in Munich, under it the sentence is written: “Mega Metropole. But why do you all want to get out of here at the weekend??”, or “Cool City. But how much money is left at the end of the month?” It’s about the most sore point of big cities: prices for apartments or houses that have the equivalent of a left kidney. Life in the countryside is more rewarding, says the Bad Kissingen district office, which is behind the campaign. Pia Ratzesberger from the Suddeutsche Zeitung has written an article entitled “How the province tries to lure the people of Munich”, I have written about the campaign and noted that there are “good arguments” to explain to a city dweller why “he should spend the rest of his life in Munnerstadt” should spend. Because for them the question is “what to do in Munnerstadt besides living there”.

Here is the answer.

“Dear colleague Pia Ratzesberger,

After the lesson in the ring, Zbik was meek and quiet. No more battle announcements – only hymns of praise he sang to his hated opponent. “I must respectfully and without envy acknowledge that Felix has clearly defeated me,” said a drawn Sebastian Zbik after the task defeat against world champion Sturm. For weeks, the defending champion and challenger had been hurling tirades at one another. In the ring, only one was left in charge: Felix Sturm, who won the WBA-created title of super champion with the technical K.o. defended for the twelfth time in the tenth round. “Today you saw the difference between a world champion and a super champion,” former world champion Regina Halmich put it in a nutshell.

For the former WBC titleholder Zbik had started strong in front of 13,000 spectators in the Lanxess Arena – but just as strongly declined. Whereas in the early rounds he had been landing whole combinations of punches, Sturm dominated the German world championship duel almost at will from the fourth round onwards. His left jab kept hitting the face of the 30-year-old from Neubrandenburg, who was visibly gasping for air.

“My legs have become weak. Why I lacked the strength, I do not know,” said Zbik. Maybe because world champion Sturm marched forward non-stop and didn’t give him a moment’s rest. After the sixth round, trainer Artur Grigorian asked his protege for the first time whether he could still continue. Three rounds later they capitulated. “We decided today for health,” said Zbik. In the end, the pressure was probably too much for him.

Meisner is considered one of the most controversial German bishops. The president of the German Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, praised him as the “man of clear words”.

The pope accepted the 80-year-old’s request to resign, the archdiocese announced. After a quarter of a century, Meisner is now with immediate effect no longer archbishop of Cologne, the largest and richest German diocese. He will retain the title of cardinal, even if at 80 he could no longer take part in a papal election.

Meisner had asked Francis to dismiss him for reasons of age and health. Until the election of the new archbishop, the diocese with more than two million Catholics will be led by its current vicar general Stefan Hebe.

The British government wants to leave the EU on 31 December in the event of a Brexit without an agreement. October immediately end freedom of movement for new arrivals from the EU. This was announced by a government spokeswoman in London.

The rights of EU citizens already living in the UK would not be affected. Critics fear, however, that it will be hard to distinguish who is living in the country legally and who is not. Meanwhile, the EU is confident it is well prepared for a no-deal Brexit.

Details for the new entry rules for EU citizens are still being worked on, the spokeswoman in London said. “For example, we will immediately introduce much stricter rules on crime for people coming to the UK.”According to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, EU citizens who want to live in the country will in future be selected on the basis of a points system based on the Australian model.