“Future today”: savings target achieved

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The Archdiocese of Cologne wants to present a balanced budget again in 2007. This means that the savings target of the "Future Today" concept has been achieved, said Vicar General Dominik Schwaderlapp to journalists in Cologne on Monday. "Next year we will have saved 75 million euros."The remaining cut of 15 million euros will be achieved in 2009.

The archdiocese Cologne wants to present 2007 again a balanced budget. Thus the savings goal of the concept "future today" is reached, said Generalvikar Dominik Schwaderlapp on Monday before journalists in Cologne. "In the next year we will have saved 75 million euros."The remaining cut of 15 million euros will be achieved in 2009. Thus the archdiocese lowers the budget durably by 90 million euro or 13 per cent. The starting point was the 2004 budget of 682 million euros. In 2005 and 2006, the archdiocese drew on reserves to balance revenues and expenses despite declining church tax revenues. Listen to a this site report on two years of "Future Today. Thanks to full-time and volunteer workers The church tax council had discussed the budget 2007 on Saturday. The archdiocese expects an increase in church tax revenues for the first time again this year. For 2006, 3 percent more could be expected, for the following year 1.7 percent, it was said. That is 621 million euros for the current year and 648.3 million euros for the following year. Since the year 2000, the amount had decreased by 80 million euros.Schwaderlapp thanked full-time and volunteer staff for their "constructive attitude" in implementing the cost-cutting measures. The municipalities had shown a "high level of acceptance," even if the concept had involved "painful cuts" in some cases. 338 of the 4.500 full-time positions in the archdiocese have been eliminated, he said. But only 34 employees had to be laid off. The remaining cases, he said, were resolved "amicably" through partial retirement, retirement or transfer.

No church closures for financial reasons The positions of sextons, church musicians or secretaries, who are directly employed by the 221 pastoral areas, were reduced by 13.5 percent, as the vicar general said. That had happened by the reduction of hourly contingents; here only one employee had been dismissed.Half of the savings sum of 90 million euros will be cut from the parishes by 2008. The pastoral areas are reducing their costs for non-clerical staff, the Christmas bonus for pastors and the kindergarten groups. They also plan to sell meeting rooms and ministry apartments. "The abandonment of churches is not part of the concept," Schwaderlapp emphasized.Cardinal Joachim Meisner had agreed in 2005 to the profanation of six houses of worship. But this was only for pastoral reasons, not financial ones.The number of kindergarten groups will not be reduced by 900 as planned, but by 809, as the vicar general emphasized. From 2008, the archdiocese still wants 1.400 groups maintained with subsidies.308 it wants to close, 98 groups go into municipal sponsorship and 197 are then "specially financed" by cities and municipalities. The closures will affect 650 kindergarten teachers, who, according to Schwaderlapp, will be placed in other parochial kindergartens.

"Has not plunged us into depression" In categorical pastoral care such as youth and pastoral care for foreigners, 11 million euros will reportedly be cut, and 10 million euros in administration. Caritas receives 6 million euros less, schools and educational institutions 5 million each. 8 million euros are being cut in special areas that go beyond the archdiocese, for example. The vicar general emphasized that from the beginning the intention was to cut more in administration and less in the social sector.Cardinal Meisner had addressed the parishes on Sunday with a pastoral message. It said: "The concept 'Future Today' has not plunged us into depression, but has allowed us to experience that a living church does not depend primarily on its material possibilities, but on our openness to the living presence of the Lord."(KNA)

Beautiful female bodies in battle or ruthless warriors causing trouble for Greek heroes? Or, as the Greek name suggests, brutal women who cut off their breasts to be able to shoot better with a bow? The word Amazons alone fires the imagination and leads to a wide variety of images in the mind.

A compilation of such ideas about the mythical women people presents the Historical Museum of the Palatinate from Sunday in Speyer – and shows the oldest warrior tomb in the world.

On 2.000 square meters visitors can approach the Amazons from archaeological, cultural-historical and literary side. First of all, it is about what was originally meant by "Amazon", that is, Greek sagas. Presented is what could have been the world's first pageant: an artist's competition to create the most beautiful wounded Amazon in Ephesus. The statues have not been preserved, but visitors can choose their favorites on the screen.

Warrior graves and grave goods
The highlight of the show will be never-before-seen female warrior graves and grave goods from the Siberian steppes and Ukraine. The oldest known warrior lived almost 3 years ago.000 years in the Caucasus. Her tomb was discovered in 1927, with a bronze sword and spearhead as supplements. A healed slash wound can be seen on her skull, suggesting researchers that she was an active fighter who lived to be about 40 years old. Also the armor of a girl on the territory of today's Ukraine from the fourth century before Christ will be shown. Museum director Alexander Koch ames that many more "Amazon graves" will be discovered in the future, as DNA analyses make it possible to assign the correct gender to skeletons with supposedly "male" grave inserts.

Cliches about Amazons are unmasked at two places of the show: On the one hand already the representations on antique vases, in writings of Herodotus and Diodorus and in the post-antique time prove imaginative stereotypes: a life without men, yearly meetings with the opposite sex for the purpose of procreation and the amputation of the right breast for higher accuracy in archery. Accompanying oil paintings from the 18th cent. nnd 19. An accompanying lecture deals with the Amazons in the modern popular culture, including sculptures from the eighteenth century and by Franz von Stuck, among others. "Between male fantasies and emancipation" is the title of the show.

And it is about how Europeans transferred their exotic and erotic ideas to Africa and South America. End of the 19th century. In the middle of the 19th century, for example, female soldiers from the West African kingdom of Dahomey had to perform typical war dances from their homeland at "folk shows" in zoos.

What remains of the myth?
Since almost every warrior nation is called Amazons, a lecture in the accompanying program also deals with women in South America. One theory is that the Amazon was so named by the Spanish because they were attacked by bow-shooting women on an expedition. Women fighting during the French and Baden Revolutions are also a theme, as is the comic book character "Wonder Woman".

And what remains of the myth? Museum director Koch is critical of historians who claim to have discovered Amazon graves. "An Amazon people never existed," only fighting women in male roles. encounters with them, the Greeks would have explained themselves with the Amazon legend. As the show shows, Herodotus' tale from the fifth century B.C. fits in with this. According to this Amazons mixed with the people of the Scythians. With a people north of the Black Sea, the area of the sites of the warrior graves. Myth and reality have thus intermingled over the centuries.

"He listened very well and made the different voices recognizable". This is the impression of Regina Laudage-Kleeberg, head of the youth department in the diocese of Essen, about the pope's letter "Christus vivit". Nevertheless important topics are missing.

Interviewer: Does Francis succeed in giving courage to the young people?

Regina Laudage-Kleeberg (Head of the Department for Children, Youth and Young Adults at the Episcopal General Vicariate in Essen): He has done that, to be honest. The young people have 77 pages in front of them, they have to struggle a bit through it. He has done one central thing, which I find particularly important: He has made this very great diversity in the youth area visible.

There is not one youth, but many, many different young people. This is visible in the paper. He listened very well and made the very different voices recognizable in his writing.

Interviewer: The Pope also deals with love and partnership in this letter, but he completely excludes homosexuality. How do you see it?

Laudage-Kleeberg: In any case, I think this is a great omission. At one point he says young people are moving away from the church in many places, especially because of its sexual morality. It alienates her.

You ask for clarification in terms of different ies in this area, identity of man and woman – what is the difference? But even homosexuality. He puts that down and then nothing happens. Then comes the next topic.

Interviewer: In the context of sexual abuse, the advice then emerges that young people should approach a priest if they have the impression that he is prone to assaults. What did you spontaneously think when you read that?

Laudage-Kleeberg: I hit my head. You have to imagine it figuratively. It's not like when I see someone stealing a banana and I say "Listen, this is against what you promised". If I were to perceive that someone is prone to assault, to sexual violence, or has already done something, and I notice that, then I should please remind them that they have an obligation to God and to the church. No one can tell me that anyone does that. It says to preach the Gospel to them, and it's all very well meant.

I think the pope means well. But this is beyond all reality. The person who identifies something like this is usually either concerned or deeply concerned because someone they know may have been abusive. Then I'm supposed to go and say, "Excuse me, you're not fulfilling your obligation to God and the church". This is totally unrealistic.

Interviewer: Can you explain that somehow, how the pope comes to his advice? Is he misadvised there or what is the reason for that?

Laudage-Kleeberg: I believe that this is profoundly his preservation of faith and values. He won't mean any harm. He said a lot around it, a lot needs to happen on prevention. He also spoke very clearly, not specifically, but very clearly. In his mindset, this is about faith. At one point later he becomes quite divine and says that God and Jesus Christ will give us the renewal in the Church. What does not happen is what we demand here in Germany – the realistic and concrete changes of actions by responsible people in the church. The help of God is asked for. That's why I'm not surprised he says addressing others on commitments to God and Church.

Interviewer: Back again. Young people should be the main actors in their own lives and also in the church, the letter says. Does this resonate with young people or are these words that fall flat?

Laudage-Kleeberg: I don't know if you read 77-page Vatican papers like this when you were young. I think the format is very young, pleasant and fresh by Vatican standards. But completely out of place for the actual target audience, in my opinion. Still, if you get through it, there's a lot of great stuff in there. We put it on as postcard slogans, because some young people collect postcard slogans. There are a lot of very nice encouraging things in there, for example, "The heart of a young person is holy ground.". So the adults should please take off their shoes.

There is a lot of encouragement and a lot of promise: make your decisions, develop yourself, let people accompany you. That's a great invitation to faith, that's already great. There is a lot of strong stuff in it, also a lot of balanced stuff. That's good.

Interviewer: You just have to translate it a little bit, or how does it come across to the young people??

Laudage-Kleeberg: Yes, and very neatly. The translation effort is now the "To Do" for us people who act in the youth field.

Interviewer: Again, bottom line, what does the paper bring to work with young people?

Laudage-Kleeberg: For us, it brings a lot, because it confirms, of what we do. The Pope has said there are two central lines of action for youth ministry: one is the search for God, the other is to accompany young people to develop and clarify their own identity. Exactly what we are doing. In this respect, it is a great confirmation and encouragement for what we are doing.

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