German bishops to sell publisher that marketed erotic books

CWN - November 23, 2011

The German bishops have decided to sell Weltbild, a major publishing house owned by 12 dioceses, amid revelations that the $2.15-billion firm had marketed some 2,500 erotic works.

“We can’t make money all week long with something we condemn from the pulpit on Sunday,” said Cardinal Joachim Meisner.

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Easter Campaign:
Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($33,071 to go):
$80,000.00 $46,928.77
41% 59%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

Show 4 Comments? (Hidden)Hide Comments
  • Posted by: kmbold - Nov. 23, 2011 7:39 PM ET USA

    Be sure, mein bishops, to use all that ill-gotten gain worthily. "The road to hell is paved with the skulls of bishops..."

  • Posted by: ColmCille - Nov. 23, 2011 6:53 PM ET USA

    They should close it down. Even if the bishops destroy the books, Wetbild is free to publish more under new ownership. When I converted to Catholicism from my former occult/pagan "religion," I gave all my occult books to other occultists. After, I regretted it and wished I had destroyed them. Although they were already involved in the occult, my actions contributed to their errors and possibly caused more harm to their souls. Evil should be destroyed, not sold or given away.

  • Posted by: ElizabethD - Nov. 23, 2011 11:45 AM ET USA

    I hope they will be destroying the erotic books rather than selling them together with Weltbild (and have others carry on with distributing them). A lot of women have a habit of pornographic ("erotic") romance novels, and this is harmful and sinful like any other pornography use. The faithful had warned the bishops for a long time, and they did nothing.

  • Posted by: Lucius49 - Nov. 23, 2011 8:57 AM ET USA

    The most disturbing thing here is that if there were no media spotlight shone on this nothing would have happened. The German Bishops need to ask the question how did this happen and who are responsible?

Catholic World News Email Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

Learning from the sick, and from the death of a child May 17
The case for change in Irish abortion law: based on a framework of falsehood May 17
The Smell of the Sheep May 16
Too many missing funds: Catholic institutions need tighter financial controls May 16
What capitalists should learn from the Pope's critique May 16

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Pope strongly supports call for reform in religious life CWN - May 8