(ANSA) - BERLIN - The leaders of the Catholic and Evangelical churches in Germany are in favour of the policy of accepting migrants decided by Angela Merkel.

In an interview with the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the chairman of the board of the German Evangelical Church, Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, said he was ''impressed'' with the Chancellor's attempt to ''reconcile humanity with control''. The president of the German Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, has advised Germany's political class ''not to undermine the fundamental right of asylum''. In this regard, Merkel has always been very clear, even replying to attempts to re-open the discussion made by some members of the CSU.

According to both clergymen, we should not underestimate the difficulties of the integration process and try to make any effort to prevent different groups, ethnic groups and religions in Germany from building 'enclosures' which are isolated from the rest of society. ''Fears of islamization, however, have no real basis'', Bedford-Strohm underlined (ANSA).