The president of the German bishops' conference, Bishop Heiner Willmer, the highest official in the Catholic Church in Germany, said that they "firmly reject" the AfD's claim that they are a Christian organization, and the party is a "wolf in sheep's clothing." Wilmer also added, "The ethno-nationalist ideology is incompatible with Christianity," and that the AfD's ascendancy of white German men is at the expense of others, especially immigrants. This, according to Wilmer, violates "contemporary Christianity," which "encourages love of neighbor and solidarity with all people in need." He also added that the German Catholic Church would work with "other forces in society" to protect democracy in Germany and cohesion in Europe. To note, the AfD called for the cutting off of state funding for Catholic and Protestant churches, in addition to the cessation of church tax collection, which would be a severe blow to the German Catholic Church, which last year spent more than 537 million euros on international humanitarian aid, most of which was sent to Africa, Asia and South America, while helping immigrants, Germany.