Catholic Social Academy of Austria

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Logo of the Catholic Social Academy Austria

The Catholic Social Academy Austria is a canonical institution of the Austrian Bishops' Conference founded in 1958 , has its seat in Vienna and is a legal entity .

history

In May 1952 a study day was held in the Austrian pilgrimage town of Mariazell in preparation for the 1952 Catholic Day, which had the motto A free church in a free society . In doing so, the principle of non-interference by the Catholic Church in day-to-day party political issues in Austria was established. Furthermore, the study day called for a social program for the Catholics and a related training, which should be done with a body created for this purpose. The paper was later named Mariazeller Manifesto . In 1954, a social and economic policy department was created in the Archdiocese of Vienna . As a result, the Austrian Bishops' Conference decided in the spring conference in March 1958 to found the Catholic Social Academy. As a result, the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Franz König, gave the institute a statute and granted it legal personality. On October 1, 1958, the social academy began its activities under the direction of the Jesuit father Walter Riener with a half-day speaker and a full-time secretary. In 1959 the company moved into the premises in Schottengasse. With the founding of the Catholic Social Academy Austria, the training institution required in the Mariazeller Manifesto was realized in connection with the social program of Austrian Catholics.

This was preceded in 1954 by the creation of the social and economic policy department of the Archdiocese of Vienna . From the founding mission of researching and disseminating Catholic social teaching and promoting its application , a differentiated offer with the pillars of social policy , political adult education and organizational development developed .

From a three-month boarding course, initially for men, and later also for women, a part-time course on the subject of social responsibility was developed, which concludes with the acquisition of the academic title Academic Developer of Social Responsibility . In addition to the two or three-week social seminars for women, the women's academy was established in the early 2000s. The two-year extra-occupational course was awarded the innovation prize for adult education in 2004, as was the idea for a women's platform in 2007.

In the mid-1970s, the Catholic Social Academy initiated talks between the church and parties, as well as with the Chamber of Labor and the trade unions, and intensified cooperation with their political academies. The political education work of the social academy led to projects in internal and non-church companies and addressed the humanization of the world of work. Unconditional basic income became a central topic of social policy in the mid-1980s through publications by the Social Academy.

Based on a study day with the title From Quantity to Quality of Life , a book of the same name was initially created and, based on this, the series of publications on Social Issues . At the end of the 1980s, the Academy played a key role in the preparation of the first Austrian poverty conference, which took place in Salzburg at the end of 1995. The alliance for the free Sunday Austria is broadly based and consists of churches, trade unions, business and civil society organizations and tries to counteract the creeping erosion of Sunday.

At the beginning of the 2000s, the migration of families and their integration was the subject of several studies and events. It was also during this time that the Academy coordinated the creation of an ecumenical social document in which fourteen Christian churches participated. The social word of the World Council of Churches in Austria emerges as a compass for social thinking and action. From 2004 onwards, the ethics of investing was a topic.

In 2008, a future fund was set up with the aim of financially securing the development work of innovative offers at the academy. The development of new offers requires resources that are not available in the current budget.

organization

The Board of Trustees of the Social Academy includes representatives from all Austrian dioceses , the General Secretariat of the Austrian Bishops' Conference, the social science institutes at Austrian universities, the Catholic Action Austria , the social partners and the management of the Academy. In addition, the constitution provides for the establishment of a program committee. The Catholic Social Academy Austria is a member of the Forum for Catholic Adult Education in Austria .

In the area of ​​social politics , ethics is the central term, whereby the orientation towards convictions and values, the consideration of criteria for politics and economy as well as the formation of a social conscience are connected. Political adult education serves the development of personality and organization, the identification of innovations and alternatives and the accompaniment of changes. Organizational development happens through the contribution of ideas and skills, through participation in initiatives and through taking on responsibility. Each division is headed by its own division manager.

The tasks are carried out by full-time and voluntary employees, with staff members available for the individual teams. In 2012, the adult education institution reached around 6,000 people at almost 250 events within Austria. The academy's budget in 2012 was around 1 million euros.

The academy has quality certifications ( EFQM - Committed to Excellence and PILGRIM - Education for Sustainability).

management

Publications

  • The official communication organ of the Catholic Social Academy Austria is called ksoe-nachrichten and contains news and statements from the Catholic Social Academy. In addition to seven issues, two dossiers appear annually.
  • The annual reports, which appear annually, give an overview of the focus areas, projects and ongoing courses (seminars, study days, workshops)
  • Walter Riener: Social Handbook. Catholic social teaching and social presence. Hollinek, Vienna 1956.
  • Walter Riener: Current Problems of Union Policy. Lectures and results of the 2nd trade union conference of the Institute for Social Policy and Social Reform. Walter Riener u. a. (Ed.) With a foreword by Erwin Altenburger , series of publications by the Institute for Social Policy and Social Reform - Issue 9 in a row Dr. Karl Kummer Institute , Ueberreuter, Vienna 1958.
  • Walter Riener: The Christian image of man. Christian-social work letters, Werkgemeinschaft Christian Arbeiter - Gruppe München eV (ed.), Munich 1958, pp. 1369–1382.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mariazell Manifesto as a starting point ( memento from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) ksoe.at
  2. ↑ Milestones, in: Web presence of the Catholic Social Academy Austria ( Memento from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Peter Steinmauer: 50 Years of the Catholic Social Academy KSOE in: website www.erwachsenenbildung.at of the Federal Ministry for Education and Women
  4. ^ About us in: Website of the Catholic Social Academy Austria ( Memento from May 26, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Statistics, in: Annual Report of the KSÖ 2012 ( Memento from May 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ Biography of Alois Riedlsperger in: Website of the Catholic Social Academy Austria ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ↑ Biography of Markus Schlagnitweit , in: Website of the Catholic Social Academy Austria ( Memento from April 6, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ Magdalena Holztrattner is the new head of the Catholic Social Academy of Austria , in: Web presence of the Diocese of Linz ( Memento from October 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive )