AC Wimmer

AC Wimmer

AC Wimmer is founding Editor-in-Chief of CNA Deutsch. The multilingual Australian, raised in Bavaria and South Africa, held senior roles at Australia's SBS and served as editor-in-chief of the historic Münchner Kirchenzeitung. A graduate in Philosophy and Chinese Studies from the University of Melbourne, Anian Christoph Wimmer — Chinese name 刘威猛 — sat on the jury of the Media Award of the German Bishops’ Conference, is a former Honorary Research Fellow in Communications at the University of Melbourne and served on the Board of Caritas in Munich.

Articles by AC Wimmer

Jean’s journey into the Catholic Church was propelled by an earnest desire to align himself with the apostolic tradition, a lineage he felt was absent in his previous religious experiences. Credit: YouTube screenshot/Säule und Fundament (Pillar and Foundation)

YouTuber finds faith: from evangelical roots to Catholic conviction

Apr 2, 2024 / 07:00 am

A YouTuber disillusioned with his experience in an Austrian evangelical Protestant environment has found a spiritual family and home in the Catholic Church.

Asian elephant. Credit: Filiz Elaerts / Unsplash (CC0)

Despite Church warnings, tigers and elephants threaten lives in Kerala, India

Mar 27, 2024 / 13:00 pm

The Catholic Church in Kerala has been leading the charge in urging the government to take decisive action to protect human lives.

View of the Vatican from the Tiber Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Synodal standoff: German bishops and Vatican commit to resolution roadmap

Mar 23, 2024 / 05:30 am

The Vatican and the German bishops have announced they will work together to resolve the controversial German Synodal Way. 

Pope Francis on March 21, 2024, laicized Bishop Emeritus of Bruges, Belgium, Roger Vangheluwe (center), years after the former prelate admitted to repeatedly sexually abusing his nephew when the latter was a minor. Credit: Carolus, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Pope Francis laicizes Belgian ex-bishop and abuser Roger Vangheluwe

Mar 22, 2024 / 09:40 am

The apostolic nunciature to Belgium said in a statement on Thursday that “serious new elements” had come to light regarding Vangheluwe.

German bishops in Rome on Nov. 17, 2022. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

German bishops to discuss Synodal Way with Vatican amid controversy

Mar 21, 2024 / 07:00 am

A delegation of German bishops is expected in Rome this Friday for talks with the Vatican about the German Synodal Way. 

Bishop Erik Varden, OCSO, a Trappist monk and spiritual writer, has served as bishop of Trondheim in Norway since 2020. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Norwegian bishop celebrates Nordic country’s first Catholic Bible

Mar 18, 2024 / 11:30 am

“The publication of a Bible presented and packaged as ‘The Catholic Canon’ by the Norwegian Bible Society is a major ecumenical event,” Bishop Erik Varden said.

The new Norwegian translation of the Bible, published March 15, 2024. Credit: Norwegian Bible Society

A milestone for unity: First Norwegian Catholic Bible edition launched

Mar 15, 2024 / 14:00 pm

For the first time in Norway’s history, the Norwegian Bible Society has announced the publication of a Catholic edition of the Bible.

Cardinal John Dew in 2016. Credit: Screenshot / YouTube / Responsibility

New Zealand Cardinal Dew denies allegations amid Vatican investigation into alleged abuse

Mar 7, 2024 / 10:25 am

The inquiry was launched after a police investigation concluded without charges.

A mother and child Credit: Jordan Whitt / Unsplash

Ireland at a crossroads: Redefining family, motherhood on the ballot

Mar 5, 2024 / 09:25 am

Proposed changes to the Irish Constitution would abolish “all reference to motherhood,” Ireland’s bishops argue.

An illustration of the topic of Thomas Aquinas and AI created by DALL-E, a text-to-image model native to ChatGPT. Credit: DALL-E/OpenAI

What would Thomas Aquinas make of AI?

Feb 20, 2024 / 06:00 am

According to one German theologian, the Catholic saint and doctor of the Church can contribute to contemporary discussions about AI’s risks and role in society. 

The cross of the German “Synodal Way.” Credit: Maximilian von Lachner/Synodaler Weg

German Catholics ask bishops to reconsider Synodal Way plans

Feb 15, 2024 / 13:00 pm

Ahead of a high-stakes gathering of the German bishops next Monday, a lay group warned the prelates of moving “further away from the people of God.”

St. Matthew Catholic Church appears gutted by fire, allegedly set by government soldiers, in eastern Myanmar on June 15, 2022. Credit: Screenshot from KNDF Facebook video

Aid group warns of violence against Christians, sees glimmer of hope in Myanmar

Feb 15, 2024 / 08:00 am

A humanitarian aid group has warned of a rise in violence against the persecuted Christian minority amid the bloody civil war in Myanmar.

Michael Wolffsohn. Credit: Raimond Spekking/CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Attacks against Christians in Jerusalem ‘reprehensible,’ Jewish historian says

Feb 13, 2024 / 11:45 am

“Especially in Jerusalem, orthodox activists consider themselves exemplary Jews when they spit on or even beat Christians or Muslims,” Michael Wolffsohn wrote.

null Credit: Pedro Lastra/Unsplash

‘Right to abortion’ to be codified in French Constitution

Jan 31, 2024 / 11:45 am

The plan to write access to abortion into France’s constitution was announced by President Emmanuel Macron in October 2023. 

The cross of the German “Synodal Way.” Credit: Maximilian von Lachner/Synodaler Weg

Critics challenge German Synodal Way in light of abuse study

Jan 30, 2024 / 10:52 am

A new study looking at survivors of abuse within the Evangelical Church in Germany calls into doubt the narrative that abuse is “specific to Catholic factors.”

Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, speaks with EWTN Vatican Bureau Chief Andreas Thonhauser on Jan. 18, 2024. Credit: EWTN

Vatican prefect: Fiducia Supplicans draws ‘some negative reactions’ from Christian leaders

Jan 19, 2024 / 16:00 pm

In an exclusive EWTN interview and in comments to the Vatican’s news agency, Cardinal Kurt Koch said he has received negative reactions to Fiducia Supplicans.

Farmers use their tractors and hold a rally blocking access to the Riebeckplatz on the first day of a week of protests on Jan. 8, 2024, in central Halle (Saale), Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Credit: Craig Stennett/Getty Images

Amid farmers’ protests and disruptions, German bishop calls for dialogue 

Jan 8, 2024 / 13:45 pm

Bishop Georg Bätzing appealed for peaceful resolutions on Monday: “Let us approach each other and find solutions together that serve the good of all.”

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is greeted by Pope Francis during the Ordinary Public Consistory at St. Peter’s Basilica on Feb. 14, 2015. Credit: Franco Origlia/Getty Images

‘Benedict trusted Francis. But he was bitterly disappointed,’ biographer says in new interview

Dec 29, 2023 / 10:57 am

Pope Benedict XVI’s biographer, Peter Seewald, has raised concerns about how Pope Francis is managing the legacy of his predecessor. 

Pope Francis confesses in St. Peter's Basilica. Credit: L’Osservatore Romano

Hearing the pope’s confession: Vatican confessor reflects on sacrament

Dec 10, 2023 / 11:15 am

A veteran Vatican confessor spoke about his time as confessor to Pope Francis, stressing the enduring and essential role of the sacrament.

Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, Germany, (left) and Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki of Poznań, Poland. Credit: Bistum Limburg/Episkopat.pl. / Bistum Limburg/Episkopat.pl

Confronting controversy: German-Polish bishops’ dialogue highlights synodal way tensions

Nov 28, 2023 / 14:05 pm

A public dispute between the German Bishops’ Conference president and his Polish counterpart took another turn on Monday.