Pilgrim through history

Where is the Austrian Catholic Church going? This question has been asked since turmoil first appeared within it (which began in summer 1986 when Hans Hermann Groer was appointed archbishop of Vienna in replacement of card. Franz König). Over the last 25 years, turmoil has always been there, and so have the dramatic social changes that have affected the Church as well. Sometimes, the question about the future of the Austrian Catholic Church comes from sincere concern, from anxiety; but sometimes it hides the wicked elation of new atheism and new anticlericalism. Turmoil about the appointment of bishops, the abuse crisis, debates on disobedience, there has been no peace in the last 25 years. Despite this, the Church lives on, it freely goes on along its journey through time, according to the Second Vatican Council. Of course, one should understand what “the Church” exactly is. By Church, the public means just the bishops and, at most, some other high-rank officers. But in fact, if one tries to snoop a little bit into it, the Austrian Catholic Church is a varied, multiple organisation. And this is a good thing. The fact that such an organisation has tensions is part of the game. Where there is life, there is tension. Only where death reigns, there is none.The Second Vatican Council defined the Church as “God’s People” on a pilgrimage through history. In its multiplicity, the Austrian Catholic Church largely matches this definition. For example, its 3,000 parishes make up Austria’s widest “solidarity network”; there are lots of convents and monasteries (actually, the only ones in Europe to have survived the raids of the late XVIII century and the XIX century without having been annihilated); there is Caritas, there is the Catholic school system, which is more and more in demand by the families; there are lots of lay Catholic organisations – old and new -, lots of hidden but surprising “biotopes” of the renewal of the Church. There are the theological faculties that play a key role in the dialogue between faith and science; there is religion education in the schools, the “patronage” of ecclesiastic or pro-church organisations for the poor, the outcasts, the immigrants, the sick, the unborn children, the people confined to poverty in the “south” who are deprived of a possible life by a questionable global economic system.In other words, it is the same old story: the glass is half full and half empty. In this country, the Church does a lot, it is really – to quote the bishop of Graz, Egon Kapellari – a “superpower of mercy”. Through pastoral care, social work and cultural commitment, the Church looks after the “roots of mankind”. Maybe it is because of this care for the existential ground that Austria – despite all the mistakes that are certainly not missing in this country – is perceived by many as a country in which one can live well.Of course: but the glass is also half empty. The abuse crisis has deeply shaken the self-confidence of the Church: the priests and the religious people, and by now even the religion teachers and the pastoral workers, are too few; pastoral emergencies, such as the status of remarried divorced people, are becoming increasingly palpable. Many internal problems have been discussed since the Austrian Synod of 1973/74: but little has changed since then. It is no surprise, then, that the parish priests’ initiative has been translated into a barricading. As it was to be expected, opinions about the chosen methods diverge, especially about the fighting slogan “Appeal to disobedience”. About this, a few days ago the Vienna-born theologian professor Jan-Heiner Tück stated that the challenging word “disobedience” is fit for attracting media coverage but the Church considers itself, down to its very core in the liturgy, as a “communio”, a community of devotees in unity with the local bishop and the Pope. If one calls to “disobedience”, the community is hurt by “wounds that must be healed”. Before Tück, similar words had also been used by some reformist church leaders, such as the auxiliary bishop of Vienna, Helmut Krätzl, and the Benedictine abbot, father Christian Haidinger. Someone may have been surprised that dialogue within the Austrian Catholic Church has not been stopped even by such “appeal to disobedience”. Someone would have probably liked to see some bloodshed, in a figurative sense, of course. But card. Christoph Schönborn managed to defuse the conflict and trigger a “successful de-escalation”, as Prof. Tück said. Constructive dialogue must have been established at the latest meeting between the cardinal, mgr. Helmut Schüller and the leaders of the initiative of the parish priests of the area of Vienna. The leaders of the initiative of the parish priests reiterated their loyalty to the Church and to the bishop in principle, and cardinal Schönborn pointed out that the parish priests can publicly express their longing for the Church to change, although the word “disobedience” may cause a rift within the ecclesiastic community. At the same time, the cardinal pointed out that the Austrian Bishops Conference will address the issues aroused by the parish priests’ initiative during the next plenary assembly, due to take place in Salzburg in November. It has been clearly shown that then parish priests’ initiative intends to become part of the “Apostelgeschichte 2010” (“History of the Apostles 2010”) reform process, promoted by card. Schönborn. On several occasions, the last time during a catechesis in the Cathedral of Saint Stephen in Vienna on 9th October, the archbishop of Vienna suggested that he “does not believe in foolproof recipes “. But the “master plan” that was submitted to him covers three points that offer sound grounds for repositioning the Church in a changed social scenario: 1) the Church must be a missionary, it cannot hide in the vestry, but it must open its doors and at the same time it must go where people are, to propose them the announcement of the Gospel; 2) Christians must attend “Jesus’ school of life” if they want to engage in a dialogue with today’s people; 3) structural reforms are needed, for instance by grouping several parish communities together but so that each one of such new large communities will include a lot – 10 or 20 – of “basic communities” revolving around people (religion teachers, theologians, church musicians, etc, men and women) or places (convent churches, chapels, etc). The Austrian Catholic Church moves on along its way, despite any turmoil. And those who are impatient should be reminded of the words of card. Franz König, who used to say to those who heatedly addressed him: “Be patient with the Catholic Church”. Austria: condolence for death of metropolitan bishop StaikosThe Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop of Austria, Michael Staikos, died on 18 October of a serious disease. Unanimous condolences have been expressed by Austria’s Catholic and Protestant ecclesiastic communities for the death of the highest leader of the Orthodox Church in Austria. “A great pillar of ecumenism, not just for Austria”, said card. Christoph Schönborn, president of the Austrian Bishops Conference, to the Catholic news agency Kathpress, adding that he has lost “a friend and a brother”. Card. Schönborn then expressed his “gratitude for having had him as a great example of Christian community in Austria”. “The Metropolitan Bishop was a visible sign of the way Orthodox Christians have become an increasingly important part of the population”, the cardinal added, speaking of the Orthodox community in Austria, which is now composed of 500 thousand people. The Lutheran Evangelical Bishop, Michael Bünker, Deputy President of the Ecumenical Council of Austrian Churches, paid tribute to the Metropolitan Bishop, whose death “is a painful loss for the Churches”. Bünker mentioned Staikos’ work since the Sixties: “For him – he said – there were no alternatives to ecumenism, to bringing the Churches closer and closer together”.Romania: meeting of bishops of Eastern Catholic Churches”You will be my witnesses: Evangelization in Eastern Catholic churches of Europe” – this will be a theme of the meeting of bishops of Eastern Catholic churches, due to take part on 3 – 6 November in Oradea, Romania, under the patronage and coordination of the Council of European Bishops´Conferences (CCEE). Greetings of the mayor of Oradea, Ilie Bolojan and state secretary of the Ministry of culture and religious affairs, Adrian Lemeni, will be followed by addresses of the prefect of Congregation for Eastern Churches, cardinal Leonard Sandri, and president of CCEE, cardinal Peter Erdo. Among other delegates due to deliver speech will be the secretary of Congregation for Eastern Churches, Mons. Cyril Vasil; president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, Mons. Rino Fisichella; head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk and professor Cesare Alzati from Catholic University of Sacred Heart in Milan. Apart from working sessions, the programme of the meeting will consist of liturgical celebrations, moments of prayer, sightseeing in the ancient city of Oradea and visit to the “Cave of bears”, one of the main attractions of the Bihor region.