“I am very attached to justitia et pax”

adminonJanuary 10, 2022January 5, 2022Leave a Comment

With the encyclical "Populorum Progressio," Pope Paul VI had. 1967 Development called the "new name for peace". In the same year the commission "Justitia et Pax" was founded in Germany. The 40th anniversary of the foundation was celebrated in Bad Honnef. Together with the chairman of "Justitia et Pax", Bishop Reinhard Marx, and the political scientist Barbara Krause, this site looks back on the past.

In an interview with Ingo Bruggenjurgen, editor-in-chief of this site, Reinhard Marx, who was appointed as the new archbishop of Munich last week, acknowledges the merits of "Justitia et Pax". In the past decades, it has been possible to bring all those active in the Catholic Church in the areas of peace, development and human rights to a "round table". "Of course," Marx says, "Justitia et Pax cannot do the work of an aid organization like Misereor. In the past, however, innovative projects such as micro-credits have been initiated.

"Whether I will be able to continue all things, I do not yet know" Sometimes the work of "Justitia et Pax" seems to have little public appeal, Marx said. "But I do believe that we can make a difference. Only in the long term – but sustainably. If it were different, I would not be there for a long time."Marx, when asked if he will continue as Archbishop of Munich and Freising, said: "Whether I will be able to continue all things, I do not yet know." But: "I am very attached to the work.

"Barbara Krause in the this site-Intervi "'Justitia et Pax' has helped and still helps the Church in Germany to address ies of peace, justice and humanity – not only with a hot heart, but also with a sharp thinking mind. What the Catholic Church in Germany has from Justitia et Pax is a success story," said Barbara Krause, an expert on development policy ies at Justitia et Pax. Krause considers it less successful that "too many ies have not been sufficiently anchored in the public consciousness". For example, "Justitia et Pax" encounters limitations in society when it comes to the difference between long-term and short-term interest. "In the short term: people are interested in buying cheap and making a quick buck."But in the long run this could not be of interest.

Encyclical Letter "Populorum Progressio The German Commission Justitia et Pax (Justice and Peace) is a "round table" of Catholic institutions and organizations active in the field of international responsibility of the Church in Germany. It includes several bishops, representatives of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), senior staff of the German Bishops' Conference and the Catholic Office, from relief agencies and Catholic organizations, and finally experts on international politics. The sponsors of Justitia et Pax are the German Bishops' Conference and the ZdK. The commission was established in 1967 in response to Pope Paul VI's encyclical "Populorum Progressio". has been founded. The Pope's letter had sharply criticized global social inequality and called for solidarity and social justice from industrialized nations. Numerous Catholic bishops' conferences then founded Justice and Peace Commissions, which now work together worldwide.With a congress and a subsequent ceremonial act on 6. and 7. December 2007 at the Catholic Social Institute in Bad Honnef, Germany, the forty years of work of the German Commission Justitia et Pax was acknowledged.

Gesine Schwan deplores prejudices against Islam At the opening on Thursday, political scientists and church representatives had called on Europeans to show greater sensitivity in their dialogue with other cultures. The German government's coordinator for cooperation with Poland, Gesine Schwan, said she was repeatedly appalled by the extent of prejudice, even among social elites, against Islam and its alleged inability to promote democracy. The contribution of Islam to the cultural development of Europe is often overlooked.According to Dieter Senghaas, a political scientist from Bremen, many of the things that are criticized today as "Asian values" or backward Islamic values have long been common knowledge in Europe. The peace researcher pointed out that the Catholic Church had not been very active in the recognition of religious freedom and human rights or in the critical interpretation of the Bible until the 20th century. The Catholic Church had a very hard time in the twentieth century. "History repeats itself more than we realize in our fast-moving times."Senghaas pointed out that Europe, especially in the 17. and 18. It would also be close to early Christianity if it were to be said that in the twentieth century, the Church suffered similarly dramatic modernization thrusts and upheavals as many societies in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa today. Basic rights and values such as equality before the law, tolerance or equality of the sexes had been developed partly only in conflicts lasting for centuries. Non-European cultures needed time and room to maneuver in order to develop their own paths to modernity.The Jesuit and philosopher Franz Magnis-Suseno, who teaches in Indonesia, diagnosed a "fear psychosis" of the Germans and the West before the Muslims. He said it was completely incomprehensible to him how the Muslim headscarf could have become a symbol of the desired dominance of Islam in Europe.

The current debate about sexual abuse is too much about the past, says Child Protection League President Heinz Hilgers. "But missing out are tens of thousands of children who will suffer the same fate in 2010," he criticized to our site. He is also skeptical about the planned round table.

this site: Are children less at risk of abuse today?
Hilgers: No, that is so that we also ame – and here also the professional associations agree – that the number of children who are sexually abused in the social close, that is, by their confidants and known persons, will also be between 80 and 120,000 children in 2010. Exact figures cannot be given, because there is a high number of unreported cases.
this site: So why don't more current cases come to public attention?.
Hilgers: Yes, of course it is the case that children who are sexually abused in their own family remain silent and sometimes blame themselves. Unjustly, as children who suffer violence in the family do, there is a good portion of shame involved. And then, of course, there is the threat of the father, for example, who then says: "If you tell anyone what I have done or am doing to you, you'll go to a home and I'll go to jail, and the whole family will fall apart." That is the threat, and then of course the children need people in whom they can confide and in whom they can also reliably entrust themselves.
this site: And that brings us to the measures that are being taken at the moment. You are rather dissatisfied; you say for example: With round tables, as they are announced now, the problem cannot be solved. Why not?
Hilgers: Yes, one time it is strange: now everybody makes a round table. Started with four, now you're at three. If, then they should sit down at one table. But I think it goes without saying that when politicians want to make new laws, they should listen to the professional public. It is a mistake to believe that round tables are solutions.What we need are first of all a few measures in politics. I am in favor of bringing the civil statute of limitations, which unfortunately is only three years, into line with the criminal statute of limitations. As far as criminal law is concerned, I would advise caution, because it is very difficult to prove a matter in the criminal law sense that occurred more than twenty years ago and then still in one's own childhood. But the next point that needs to be made urgently is that the demand of the many counseling centers and child protection centers in our country is put on a reliable basis. At the moment, it is more likely that these institutions, where children can confide in, will have to face drastic further cuts because the municipal budgets in many places are at the end of their tether. This is, of course, the opposite of what is needed now, because now is the time when more people take courage to admit their fate.
this site: First of all, public contact points are important to prevent child abuse or to help when it has happened. But how else could you prevent child abuse, also in dealing with children, what do you have to teach them?
Hilgers: Of course we need the children. The typical perpetrator-victim relationship is such that the pedophilic perpetrator also feasts on the weakness of his victim, and very strong children are less likely to be victims of abuse, and not so quickly. Therefore: Let us raise strong children! And the second thing is that of course we listen to the children, we take them seriously. This is very important – in the families but also in the institutions – it happens far too often that after a discussion following sexual abuse, the teacher is still there, but the student has been transferred to another school. Of course, this is also seen by other students. And then they continue to keep silent, and that's where we have to break the silence by listening openly to the children. The last point is: We must finally understand that children are not our property, not even the property of their parents! Children are human beings, not legal objects, but legal objects with their own human dignity and their own fundamental rights. And it is high time that Germany finally commits itself to this and that the Bundestag and the Bundesrat take the rights of children, as they are internationally recognized in the UN Convention, into the Basic Law and thus make them direct German law. This is a question of our self-image, our mission statement and our consciousness.The conversation was conducted by Heike Sicconi.

It is a unique project: Three women – a Christian, a Jew and a Muslim – want to build a three-religion daycare center in Berlin. The idea that emerged four years ago could soon become reality.

Daring to ask each other questions – for Iman Andrea Reimann, this is one of the most important reasons for supporting the project. The Muslim woman, who converted to Islam more than 25 years ago, is one of the initiators of the planned "three-religion daycare center" in Berlin.

She knows from her own experience what it's like when you first get to know a religion from the outside. As chairwoman of the German Muslim Center Berlin, she coordinates the Muslim sponsor side of the project and currently heads a Muslim daycare center in the capital city.

Shortly before a contract is signed

Four years ago, the idea of bringing Jewish, Christian and Muslim children together under one roof in a daycare center – originally "the dream" of Rabbi Gesa Ederberg, as Reimann reports – was born. Ederberg, who is responsible for the synagogue on Oranienburger Strasse in Berlin-Mitte, has – like Reimann – an eventful history with regard to religion: she was a Protestant and converted to Judaism almost 30 years ago. The educational association "Masorti", founded by her, supports the planned institution from the Jewish side.

Both women developed the idea further and brought Kathrin Janert, a member of the board of directors of the Protestant Church District Association for Daycare Facilities in Berlin Mitte-Nord, on board as the third member of the group. A place was looked for, found in Berlin-Moabit – and discarded again.

Meanwhile, the plans are more concrete, as Reimann recounts. It is now certain that the daycare center can be built on the grounds of a Protestant parish in Berlin-Friedrichshain, and a contract is about to be signed. When everything is finalized, the name of the parish will also be published, ares Reimann.

In any case, the priest in charge says he finds the whole thing "innovative and challenging". Expected start of construction on the site: January 2021.

Strong approval from religious commissioner

A project that also meets with the approval of the Federal Government Commissioner for Religious Freedom, Markus Grubel (CDU).

"I can hardly imagine anything better for preventing prejudice," says the Catholic, who learned about the planning status firsthand. Together, the children of this daycare center should learn about other religions and their holidays and rites, but still remain "at home in their religion". Grubel says: "Hopefully it will inspire imitation."

The whole thing is expected to cost up to five million euros, and the three sponsors will have to pay ten percent of the costs themselves. They are trying to raise funds through donations and their associations. The rest is to be financed through the daycare expansion program of the state of Berlin, according to the plan. The planned building will have four floors, one for each of the daycare centers of the three religious communities, which, quite fairly, will each offer 35 places – "dialogue at eye level," says Protestant Janert.

In the fourth, there is to be space for "rooms for encounters". The three daycare centers will also share the outdoor area and the kitchen. "So that everyone can eat, the food is kosher," says Reimann. It is also clear that the house, like all Jewish institutions, must be specially secured because of the danger of attacks.

Mutual invitation to the festivals

Whether Yom Kippur, St. Martin's Day or the Feast of the Sacrifice: In the daycare center, the children are to invite each other to their celebrations and explain them to those of other faiths. The fact that "we speak many languages – and also speak to God in different languages and traditions" cannot be taught to children early enough, says Rabbi Ederberg, herself a mother of three. "Growing up together is possible and necessary in our colorful city."

The daycare center should also be colorful, emphasizes Muslim Reimann, open to all types of families, including same-sex parents and non-religious families. "But we ame that it is more of an offer for families who are at home in their religion, but want to experience religious diversity," says Protestant Janert.

In other words, not necessarily for people who are mainly interested in a place at a daycare center close to home, but for those who are also prepared to accept a longer journey. The women do not believe that they will have problems filling the nursery: applications for places are already coming in.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply