“Do not talk about us, but with us!”

adminonDecember 9, 2021January 5, 2022Leave a Comment

How does the church relate to youth? More than 250 bishops are expected to answer this question at the Synod on Youth at the Vatican. In the plenum there are also nearly 40 young people. But you have no right to vote. Are they still heard?

"The youth are not properly represented," finds Julia Braband. The 25-year-old Protestant from Erfurt is a member of the Council of the Lutheran World Federation, where she is responsible for youth work. At the Catholic Youth Synod, she participated in the discussion for a week as a guest speaker. However, these "auditors", the representatives of the youth at the synod, do not have the right to vote.

In the Council of the Lutheran World Federation, on the other hand, Julia has a right of co-determination. But the fact that she is not allowed to vote in Rome bothers her. "I always find it difficult when we young people are talked about rather than with."

Old men and youth: How fair is the synod??

Indeed, the pictures from Rome these days convey an unbalanced image: old men with gray hair can be seen in almost all the photos of the youth synod. And they are supposed to show the way of the church into the future?

The 250 bishops face only a few dozen young people. Without voting rights, mind you.

So is the voice of the youth in Rome not heard at all? Even if the youth played only a small role in the actual synod, they had a great influence in its preparation.

Already more than a year ago, a Vatican online questionnaire went out to tens of thousands of Catholic youth around the world. "What do you think about the sexual morality of the Church??", "Do you feel represented in the church?" The answers of the young people were evaluated and flowed into a working paper, which forms the basis of the Synod. In addition, several hundred young people came to Rome in the spring for the so-called "pre-synod", and summarized the questions and problems of the youth once again.

"It is, after all, a synod of bishops"

But is that enough? Wouldn't it be appropriate to put 250 young people in front of the 250 bishops at the synod?? "It's a synod of bishops now, so it makes sense that more bishops are there," reflects young auditor Marie Gutierrez of Manila. "I very much hope that they will take the polls and the results of the presynod seriously, and incorporate them into their decisions."

Even though the synod may not represent youth perfectly, for another auditor it is one thing above all: a step in the right direction. That's what Thomas Andonie thinks, he is on site as a representative of the German Catholic youth. "Church is just learning to speak with and not about young people."This is a success, but one should not rest on one's laurels: "In order to be on the right path, further steps must follow after this first one."

The Legionaries of Christ order began its general chapter in Rome on Monday. The topics have not yet been determined. Undoubtedly, however, it will be about preventing sexual abuse, the religious community spokesman said.

For the first time, the campaign, which will last until 27. The meeting, which will last until February, will be held in parallel with the two general assemblies of the communities of consecrated women and men, which since September have merged with the order to form the Regnum Christi federation. New leadership elections are coming up in all three communities.

The substantive topics of the deliberations have not yet been determined. However, there will undoubtedly be a focus on the prevention of sexual abuse and "preventive reappraisal," the spokesman for the order, Karl-Olaf Bergmann, said in response to a query. Ten years after the start of a fundamental reform, "not everything has been achieved by a long way", he said.

Justice for victims of abuse

It was "inevitable" that perpetrators from their own ranks would be held accountable, the spokesman said. Justice must be done for victims of abuse, he said. There was an awareness that previous solutions for reparations were "unsatisfactory for those affected".

Bergmann said a "phase of truth" must now be followed by a "phase of justice". On the subject of prevention, he stressed that state authorities are now being called in even for borderline violations below the threshold of punishability.

Whether the Federation will be received by Pope Francis is still open; usually there is an audience at the end of such general chapters. By their own account, the Legionnaires currently number around 1.540 members active in 21 countries around the world.

Sexual assault by the founder of a religious order

The superior general is 67-year-old Mexican Eduardo Robles Gil. The Legionaries' last general chapter was held in 2014; it was preceded by a serious crisis in the order and a process of renewal that lasted several years.

After moral lapses by the order's founder, Marcial Maciel Degollado (1920-2008), became known, and in light of deficiencies in the internal governance structures, Benedict XVI ordered. in May 2010, sweeping reforms to. The community has since distanced itself from its founder.

It's done: After five years, the discussion process on the future of the church in Germany has reached its conclusion in Wurzburg. However, there will still be a need for discussion.

In the vineyards around Wurzburg, the harvest begins these days. And because the Bible is full of stories and parables surrounding the fruit of the vine and human labor, appropriate comparisons suggest themselves when taking stock of the "conversation process" of the Catholic Church in Germany. Five years ago, the bishops launched a dialogue on the future of the church in the wake of the abuse scandal that had come to light shortly before. It came to a conclusion in Wurzburg at the weekend. Bishops and laypeople set about reading at a final forum. What will grow out of it now?

Great need to talk

The participants' verdict on the outcome of the discussion process was just as unanimous as the experts' outlook on the coming wine vintage. The need for dialogue between bishops and laity remains high. That was exemplified on Friday during the more than seven-hour debate on the adoption of the final paper. Once again, some of the conflicts that remain unresolved were raised: the question of allowing women to be ordained or how to deal with remarried divorcees.

To dwell in the world of winemakers: Some participants wanted to give the vines more space during the debate, here and there even allow something like wild growth. Others, like Regensburg Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer, urged that shoots be cut back so as not to deprive the main trunk of strength. "If we pass it like this, we leave the foundation of our faith," he made clear, for example, during the debate on ordination of women to the priesthood. This is definitely impossible according to the magisterial proclamation of the popes, but for some participants of the discussion process it is necessary for reasons of gender justice.

Despite all their differences, both sides want to continue the conversation.

Continuing the dialogue

The bishops presented on Saturday elements of a message that they plan to publish in November. Accordingly, the plan is to continue the dialogue in the form of a convention meeting every two to three years, bringing together some 120 representatives from all areas of church life. That would be only a good third of the previous participants, but the composition should remain the same. In the debate, there were repeated calls for more commitment and for concrete topics to be agreed upon.

Is the glass half full or half empty?? The chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, contradicted the impression that the initiative had remained inconsequential. For example, he referred to the reform of church labor law, greater participation of women in church leadership positions and a new debate on marriage, family and sexuality.

Climate, family, homosexuality

The President of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), Alois Gluck, expressed similar views. To the applause of the participants, he thanked the archbishop emeritus of Freiburg, Robert Zollitsch, who had set the process rolling "with a lot of courage and tenacity" during his tenure as bishops' conference president.

As with wine, the climate was also important for the dialogue process. There have been huge changes since 2010. To the simple worker in the vineyard of the Lord, Benedict XVI., was followed by Francis, a pope who also relies on a modest appearance, but at the same time develops a dynamic all of his own. A world synod of bishops on marriage and family, new debates on homosexuality, a reform of church law to speed up marriage annulment proceedings: It all sounds like more than a tempest in a teapot – or, to keep with the metaphor, a wine glass.

The subject of abuse is not closed

But the social challenges have also changed fundamentally since the beginning of the discussion process: Coming to terms with the abuse scandal that triggered the process is by no means over, as the Bishop of Trier and Abuse Commissioner of the Bishops' Conference Stephan Ackermann emphasized. But the mega-topic at the moment is the refugees streaming into Germany, who will permanently change the image of the country, as bishops and lay people noted in a separate appeal.

It is a matter of creating a "culture of integration," said Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki. And so a "wine pope" like Stuart Pigott would probably attest one thing above all to the Wurzburg Auslese: A more than "complex character".

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