Positive balance and important tasks

The organizers of the 98. The delegates to the German Catholic Day in Mannheim have drawn a positive balance. Freiburg Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, whose diocese includes Mannheim, spoke Saturday of a "joyful celebration of faith". He said the city's short distances and open atmosphere made it an ideal location for the big event. The president of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), Alois Gluck, spoke of a successful and intensive Catholic Day.

The five-day meeting is being held under the motto "Daring a New Beginning" and will end with a church service on Sunday. German President Joachim Gauck also plans to attend the event. Overall, the ZdK expects at least 80.000 visitors from. The Katholikentag is dominated not only by social ies under the impression of the crisis in the Catholic Church, but above all by internal church ies. At ie are participation rights for women, improvements for remarried divorcees and couples uniting in a denomination, and structural changes in dioceses.

The meeting showed that the church can continue to set topics in politics and society, said Zollitsch and Gluck. They particularly highlighted events on the environment, energy transition and demographic change, as well as on the relationship between religions. With regard to the future course of the church and the dialogue process initiated by the bishops, Zollitsch said: "Now the work really begins." While a Catholics' Day cannot pass resolutions, it helps "to sharpen the perception of reality".

Many bishops before O
The meeting in Mannheim showed: "We are facing up to the challenges," said Zollitsch. Controversial ies had been discussed with great "seriousness". At the same time it had become clear that the Catholic Day was "deeply anchored in our church.
The archbishop of Freiburg expressly appreciated the response from among his fellow bishops: "I was pleased that numerous bishops were here."At the beginning of the meeting, Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Cologne, who was not in Mannheim himself, made headlines with his criticism of the Catholic Day. "No rift through Catholic Day"
ZdK President Gluck praised the discussions as a model "for the culture of discussion in our church". Gluck: "There is no rift going through this Katholikentag!"From the point of view of the Catholic laity, the dialogue within the Church should focus, among other things, on the pastoral treatment of divorced couples and those who have remarried. In addition, there is an "urgent desire" to address the ie of sexual morality. The merging of congregations also caused great concern for those involved at the grassroots level. "It is important that the church remains present in the living environments of local people."

Gluck and Zollitsch, however, objected to perceiving the church exclusively as an "institution in crisis". In the creativity of their members is an "incredible potential" so luck. Zollitsch said, alluding to the meeting's motto:
"We are already a church of awakening."

Catholic bishops want to discuss the role of women
Germany's Catholic bishops plan to discuss the role of women in the Church at their next spring plenary session. A study day on the topic of "Women's ministry in the church" is planned. Zollitsch announced on Saturday. Greater participation of women in the church is one of the demands of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), the highest body of Catholic laity in Germany.

In Mannheim, Federal Education Minister Annette Schavan (CDU) called for women to be entrusted with more tasks in the church. She justified her demand with the role of Mary of Magdala, to whom the risen Jesus had entrusted himself to tell his story. In order for women to have more participation rights in the church, Schavan says there needs to be more of a culture of debate. Controversy is not reprehensible, because those who only agree in church have given up.

The Protestant bishop of Baden, Ulrich Fischer, called the exclusion of women from the priesthood and the office of deacon a contradiction of the Bible. "A church that claims to orient itself in doctrine and order to the biblical texts cannot, in any case, permanently exclude women from all offices of the church," he said. The equality of men and women is also in line with the attitude of Jesus, who turned to men and women indiscriminately. "I hope with our Catholic sisters and brothers that the admission of women to the diaconate will soon become a reality."