The chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Georg Bätzing, said religion and churchgoing are in decline in Germany.
The trend of leaving the Church, which has been creeping along for many decades "has gained massive momentum," the leading Catholic bishop told 500 guests at the St Michael's Annual Reception in Berlin on Monday evening.
Bätzing added that it was not only the number of devout congregants that was in decline but also faith itself.
"Faith in God is on the verge of evaporating," Bätzing said.
"The Church's ability to win people over to the gospel and to give guidance is decreasing with every generation."
The Church of earlier times, in which faith in God and membership were passed on, as it were automatically, from one generation to the next, no longer exists, he said.
Therefore, the Church today has to find new ways to reach people if it wants to matter, the bishop said.
Concrete actions are needed to ensure the Church remains central to providing support for social networks in Germany.
Despite all the challenges, it could still contribute to "holding this society together and limiting the influence of misanthropic ideologies," Bätzing said.
