Overview

• Berlin’s governing mayor Kai Wegner and Apostolic Nuncio Nikola Eterović signed the agreement at the Rotes Rathaus on September 29.
• The treaty defines study programs, institutional embedding, doctoral rights and the appointment of professors for the Institute for Catholic Theology.
• The Catholic Church receives consultative rights in academic decisions, including professorial appointments, in line with arrangements at other state universities.
• The accord secures the institute’s legal and financial status; founded in 2019, it enrolls about 85 students who also train as Catholic religion teachers.
• The new framework replaces provisions of the long-standing Abschließendes Protokoll after delays from an initially planned 2022 signing, and the institute continues cooperation with Protestant, Islamic and Jewish theology partners.