Catholic company chaplaincy

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The Catholic company chaplaincy is an offer in dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in the Federal Republic for working people and the unemployed, regardless of their religious affiliation or denomination . The Catholic company pastoral care as a category pastoral care seeks closeness to the people in the world of work and advocates the biblical values ​​of solidarity , justice and human dignity . In doing so, it is also based on the statements of Catholic social teaching .

Structures

At present, 14 of the 27 dioceses in the Federal Republic of Germany have their own company chaplaincy structures, especially in the south and west of the Federal Republic. The company chaplaincy is mostly attached as a subdivision to a department or a specialist department, sometimes also as part of the Catholic Workers' Movement (KAB) in the respective diocese. It is also known as "employee pastoral care" or "employee pastoral care". As a rule, several workplaces for company pastoral care are set up within the diocese.

At the federal level, a voluntary federal commission coordinates the work of company pastoral care in the dioceses. At an annual federal meeting, it promotes professional exchange, advanced training and the further development of the guidelines. The Federal Commission, together with the Nell-Breuning-Haus in Herzogenrath, is also the sponsor of a regular cross-diocesan advanced training course on “Company Pastoral Care”. The current spokesmen for the Federal Commission are Christian Bindl (Archidocese Munich-Freising) and Richard Wittmann (Diocese of Regensburg).

Full-time and part-time employees who come from the entire spectrum of pastoral staff and who can also be lateral entrants with extensive professional practice outside the church work in the Catholic company pastoral care. Currently (as of 1/2017) there are around 50 full-time Catholic company chaplains working in the German dioceses.

Dioceses in the Federal Republic with company pastoral care

  • Aachen: Workers' and company pastoral care in the diocese of Aachen
  • Augsburg: Company chaplaincy Augsburg
  • Bamberg: Employee pastoral care / company pastoral care
  • Eichstätt: Employee pastoral care
  • Essen: The company chaplaincy in the diocese of Essen was closed by the diocese management
  • Freiburg: Archbishop's Pastoral Office, Employee Pastoral Section
  • Hildesheim: Employee pastoral care
  • Limburg: Company chaplaincy Frankfurt-Höchst
  • Mainz: Section for the professional and working world in the diocese of Mainz, diocesan office for employee and company pastoral care
  • Munich-Freising: Company chaplaincy
  • Osnabrück: Company Pastoral Care / KAB
  • Passau: Company and employee pastoral care
  • Regensburg: Catholic company pastoral care in the diocese of Regensburg
  • Rottenburg-Stuttgart: Department of Church and Work - Company Pastoral Care
  • Speyer: Department of Pastoral Care in the Working World / KAB
  • Würzburg: Catholic company pastoral care

Mission and working method

The Catholic company chaplaincy should make the church tangible and tangible in the world of work and represent biblically founded values ​​in the world of work developed in Catholic social teaching. In addition, she is the contact person within the church for questions about the world of work. The Catholic social doctrine criticizes the power imbalance between capital and labor and calls for the “priority of labor over capital”. That is why the company chaplaincy, in close connection with the labor movement , should take sides for the dependent employees.

Due to the direct connection to the world of work and unemployment, company pastoral care is often used outside of the organizational structures in church parishes and deaneries . This mission includes:

  • Operational presence through advice and support for works councils , staff councils and employee representatives as well as their committees , participation in works and staff meetings.
  • Public participation in collective bargaining, social and operational conflicts (company closings, job cuts, attacks on employee representatives) and political / social discussions about the future of work (e.g. against Sunday work) and about the fair distribution of work and income.
  • Pastoral counseling for working people and the unemployed, especially in conflict and stressful situations ( mobbing , burnout ).
  • Close cooperation with the trade unions of the DGB , the Catholic Workers 'Movement (KAB) and the Christian Workers' Youth (CAJ) as well as ecumenically with the Church Service in the World of Work (KDA) in campaigns and training offers in the field of company pastoral care.
  • Organization and support of groups, circles, initiatives that address problems in the world of work and unemployment and encourage people to help themselves.
  • Relaxation offers for those particularly stressed by the world of work - with spiritual and pastoral accents.
  • Guiding function for their target groups for other social, legal and health help offers.
  • Internal church information and discussion offers on issues relating to the world of work and unemployment (company visits, specialist conferences, participation in committees and commissions) and theological thematization of work / unemployment in sermons and liturgy .
  • Own work assignments as semi-skilled workers in companies.

Theological anchoring

The Catholic company chaplaincy in the German dioceses is based on three biblical perspectives. They are set out in the guidelines of the company pastoral care “Church in the company”.

The solidarity of God with people

Solidarity has shown itself to be a powerful, liberating force in the history of the labor movement. The company pastoral care connects the solidarity of the workers with the solidarity of God. In the Old Testament , Yahweh , the God of the Bible, shows himself to be in solidarity with his people. He hears the lamentation of the oppressed Israelites and leads his people out of the bondage of Egypt ( Exodus , 3). He turns out to be an “ Immanuel ”, “God with us”. In the New Testament his son himself becomes a person: Jesus Christ

“... emptied himself and became like a slave and like humans. His life was that of a man; he humbled himself and was obedient until death. "

- Paul , Philippians 2,7

As the son of a village craftsman in Nazareth and traveling rabbi, Jesus lived by the side of the poor and the socially outcast and outlawed. He sums up his "program" in the words of the prophet Isaiah ():

“The Spirit of the Lord rests on me; for the Lord has anointed me. He sent me to bring good news to the poor; so that I may announce release to prisoners and sight to the blind; so that I may set the broken free and proclaim a year of grace from the Lord. "

- Luke 4:18

That is why company chaplaincy sees solidarity with the disadvantaged as a fundamental part of the Christian faith. Therefore she seeks closeness to people with and without gainful employment. She takes part in their struggles for justice and dignity, fair wages and humane working conditions. She stands up for those who break down because of the overload of work and for the unemployed who feel excluded. These people should experience the liberating God of the Bible through the company pastoral care, as well as the loving care of Jesus towards the "troubled and burdened".

Prophecy - the vision of a just and humane world of work

The biblical prophets speak and act out of deep connection with the liberating God. One focus of the prophetic perspective of company pastoral care is the question of justice as presented in Jeremiah 30:10: The righteous God expects from his people that divine justice can be reflected in just structures. Jesus also sees himself in the line of prophets. The Church of Jesus Christ is built on the "foundation of the apostles and prophets" (Paul, Ephesians 2:20). Jesus proclaims the kingdom of God and means a new, fraternal society, which begins here and now, in order to be completed in the hereafter by God. Establishing and building up the kingdom of God in this sense is then the task of Christians. In this sense, company pastoral care wants to be a prophetic church in the world of work. It observes and analyzes developments in the economy and work and measures them against the standards of social justice, complains of injustice and names the perpetrators. It therefore takes a public position on company closures, layoffs and wage disputes. In its prophetic statements it is based on the guidelines of Catholic social teaching and its critique of capitalism .

To be a missionary church

The so-called missionary command of Jesus: “Go out into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to all creatures” is implemented by company pastoral care in the sense that it is active in the world of work. She consciously approaches those to whom the church has remained or has become alien. Through company pastoral care, these people can experience “church” in a new way or differently than “church on their side”. As part of its missionary mandate, company chaplaincy empowers and empowers those who, as committed Christians, are active in the world of work and discover and live their mission (“missio”) there. In addition, the company pastoral care offers the message of the Bible to all people as an aid in shaping the world of work and coping with their own lives.

With these three cornerstones, the Catholic company chaplaincy is anchored in the theology of the Second Vatican Council (1965) and its pastoral constitution Gaudium et spes (German title: "Church in the world of today"). In this Council resolution, the mission of Christians is formulated as follows:

“The joy and hope, sorrow and fear of people today, especially the poor and afflicted of all kinds, are also joy and hope, sorrow and fear of Christ's disciples. And there is nothing truly human that does not find an echo in their hearts. "

- Gaudium et Spes 1

Through this statement, the Catholic Company Pastoral Care feels encouraged and strengthened to overcome denominational and religious barriers in its work.

Historical development and influences

Company pastoral care is a more recent form of category pastoral care that developed as an independent pastoral concept in the Federal Republic of Germany after the Second World War. It takes up various historical developments in the Catholic Church. Essential for the development of company pastoral care are:

  • From about 1840 the increasing debate within the Catholic Church with the social question , e.g. B. by Adolph Kolping , Bishop Wilhelm von Ketteler .
  • 1891: Encyclical Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII. - The common good and the right of workers to dignity and adequate wages. This circular marks the beginning of the development of a Catholic social teaching through papal circulars, council resolutions as well as teaching and research. See the extensive work by Oswald von Nell-Breuning.
  • Since around 1920, the priest and later Cardinal Joseph Cardijn has been working intensively in Belgium and throughout Europe for the young workers; In 1947 he founded the Christian Workers Youth Germany (CAJ). The CAJ has become known primarily through the development of the methodical three-step process of “seeing-judging-acting” and a new form of Bible reading: “Living Gospel”.
  • Since about 1920 starting from Belgium / France movement of the worker priests with clear, often one-sided partisanship for the workers (1953 banned by the Curia, but later allowed again). In Germany in 1972 a group of workers' siblings was formed with priests, religious and lay people who live their Christianity in the world of work.
  • 1961: “Working group for company group work”: Search for a pastoral approach in the modern world of work.
  • 1965: Pastoral constitution "Gaudium et spes" of the Second Vatican Council - priority of work over capital and demand for a precise understanding of the situation of dependent employees. In addition, the lay apostolate is strengthened.
  • 1970: "Fürstenrieder Guidelines" - inclusion of the council statements in a nationwide basis for company pastoral care. Increased cooperation with the DGB trade unions .
  • From around 1970: Influences of liberation theology through the option for the poor and the associated criticism of society and capitalism.
  • 1975: Resolution “Church and Workers” of the Würzburg Synod - admission of the failure of the Catholic Church with regard to the workforce. Recommendation to set up jobs for workers and company pastoral care at the diocesan or regional level and to fill them full-time.
  • From around 1980, increased public awareness of corporate pastoral activities and a. through reports from company chaplains from the world of work and support for labor disputes such as B. at VFW Speyer.
  • 1990: "Company pastoral care - a description of the directions for employee pastoral care": Specification of the company-related approach of company pastoral care and determination of partiality in the imbalance of forces between capital and labor. Company pastoral care now increasingly includes pastoral care for the unemployed.
  • 2010: Last version of the guidelines “Church at work” - internal and external questioning of the economic system and the recognizable effects of globalization on employees as a task.

Criticism and controversy

Far-reaching conflicts between company pastoral care and the DGB unions are no longer recognizable today. In view of the synodal resolution, some trade unionists criticized the term “working class”, which is out of date in this narrowing. The guidelines of company pastoral care have long since dissolved this narrow meaning and have focused on the widespread precariousness of gainful employment. She also regards the situation of young people and women in the world of work as particularly disadvantageous.

The company chaplaincy believes that the DGB trade unions' criticism of the “independent service and labor law of the churches” is justified. With the decision to exclude collective bargaining autonomy in its own labor relations, the church is in blatant contradiction to its social doctrine, which expressly demands the contractual arrangement of labor relations. The company pastoral care represents this point of view towards the church leadership. She regards this so-called Third Way as a non-solidarity path that opens up old rifts between the church and the trade union. Nevertheless, it supports and strengthens the women and men in the church employee representatives (MAV), who perform functions similar to works councils within the framework of the special church law.

Ever since the first major clashes on location, which were accompanied by the church, the companies concerned, but also politicians, have been calling for the church to stay out of operational conflicts, as it lacks the economic competence and thus the right to take a critical position on economic decisions. From the point of view of the Catholic company pastoral care, however, criticism and partisanship is necessary and permissible precisely because in many conflicts there is otherwise the risk that the human effects of economic decisions are not sufficiently taken into account. To at least achieve that and thereby u. To stimulate other, more humane and less harmful solutions to the conflict is an essential component of their prophetic claim.

See also

literature

  • “Church in operation”: Practical: information, impulses, materials. Ed .: Social Science Institute of the Evangelical Church in Germany (Bochum); Scientific workstation of the Oswald-von-Nell-Breuning-Haus (Herzogenrath), Bochum / Herzogenrath 2001
  • "Church in the company" guidelines for Catholic company and employee pastoral care in Germany. Ed .: Federal Commission of Pastoral Care in the Federal Republic of Germany. Wuerzburg 2010
  • "Man is the measure" . Positions of Catholic Social Doctrine. Ed .: Catholic company pastoral care in the Archdiocese of Bamberg, Bamberg 2018
  • Church and working class - bulky, inconvenient, challenging. 40 years of synodal resolution. Cologne - Waldmünchen 2014.
  • Lorenz, Guido / Schobel, Paul: Say out loud what is! : Pastor in an industrial company. Ostfildern 2001
  • Ludwig, Heiner / Segbers, Franz (ed.): Manual of the workers pastoral. Mainz 1984
  • Reidt, Ingrid: Prophetic, missionary, solidarity at the side of the poor: as an employee and company chaplain on site with the people in the world of work. In: Winfried Reininger, Ingrid Reidt: Church on the side of the poor: a practical book on social pastoral care. Freiburg i. Br. 2013, pp. 121–126

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b https://betriebsseelsorge.de/bundesweit
  2. https://betriebsseelsorge.de/bundesweit
  3. "Church in the company" guidelines for Catholic company and employee pastoral care in Germany. Ed. By: Federal Commission of Pastoral Care in the Federal Republic of Germany, May 2010, p. 15 ff.
  4. "Church in operation", p. 19 ff.
  5. "Church in operation" 2010, p. 19ff
  6. "Church in Operation" 2010, p. 21 ff
  7. ^ "Church in operation", p. 19
  8. ^ "Church in operation", p. 21 ff.
  9. ^ "Church in operation", p. 23 ff
  10. See-judge-act
  11. Janosch Siepen: Worker Priest: Malochen for the Lord . In: The time . No. 35/2016 ( online ).
  12. Full text in: Walter Friedberger: Pastoral care in the world of work. Würzburg 1978, pp. 89-95
  13. ^ Resolution “Church and Workers” (1975), in: Joint Synod of the Dioceses in the Federal Republic of Germany. Official Complete Edition I, Freiburg 1976, pp. 313–364
  14. z. B. Schobel, Paul: Delivered to the assembly line. Munich 1981
  15. Ludwig, Heinrich / Ludwig, Hans-Georg (Hrsg.): Churches fight with. Mainz 1981
  16. Our service: Zeitschr. for pastoral care in d. Working world. 10/1990, p.
  17. Woelk, Ralf: The synodal resolution “Church and Workers” - A consideration / evaluation from the perspective of the DGB in: Church and Workers - bulky, uncomfortable, challenging. 40 years of the synodal resolution. Cologne 2014, pp. 16–21
  18. ^ "Church in operation", p. 7
  19. ^ "Church in operation", p. 20
  20. Ludwig, Heiner: On the competence of the church in a labor dispute. In: Churches fight with. Mainz 1981, pp. 84-90.
  21. ^ "Church in operation", p. 21 ff.