Church folk desire
The ecclesiastical request was a signature campaign that was carried out for the first time in Austria in 1995 and called for a renewal of the Roman Catholic Church .
history
In 1995, the people's petition was carried out in Austria: a signature campaign that demanded a renewal of the Roman Catholic Church through specifically named reforms. The immediate trigger for the action was the allegation of sexual abuse of young people against the then Vienna Archbishop Groer. The initiative came from Thomas Plankensteiner and Martha Heizer, who and their team carried out this campaign "for a fundamental renewal of the Church of Jesus" and made five demands:
1. Building a fraternal church:
- Equality of all believers, overcoming the gap between clergy and lay people (only in this way can the diversity of talents and charisms come into full effect again.)
- Participation and codecision of the local churches in the appointment of bishops (whoever enjoys the trust of the people should become a bishop.)
2. Full equality for women:
- Participation and codecision in all church bodies
- Opening of the permanent diaconate for women
- Access of women to the priesthood (There is no biblical justification for excluding women from church offices. The church can no longer do without the wealth of skills and life experiences of women. This also applies to leadership positions.)
3. Free choice between celibate and non-celibate way of life. )
4. Positive evaluation of sexuality as an important part of the human being created and affirmed by God:
- Recognition of the responsible decision of conscience in questions of sexual morality (e.g. conception regulation)
- No equation of conception control and abortion
- More humanity instead of blanket condemnations (e.g. with regard to premarital relationships or the question of homosexuality)
- Instead of the crippling fixation on sexual morality, greater emphasis on other important issues (e.g. peace, social justice, the preservation of creation, ...)
5. Good news instead of threatening news:
- More helping and encouraging accompaniment and solidarity instead of fearful and restrictive norms
- More understanding and readiness for reconciliation when dealing with people in difficult situations who want to start a new beginning (e.g. divorced remarried, married priests without office) instead of merciless harshness and severity.
Support and dissemination
For the above-mentioned goals, the “Church People's Desire” in Austria collected a total of 505,154 signatures from Austrian Catholics from June 3 to 25, 1995.
In Germany, the Church from Below initiative and the Public Readers' Initiative collected a total of 1,845,141 signatures from September 16 to November 12, 1995. 1,483,340 signed by the signatories as Roman Catholic for a fundamental renewal of the Church of Jesus.
Similar signature campaigns took place in the USA and Great Britain . In November 1996 the international platform “ We are Church ” was founded with organizations that are now represented on all five continents.
Reactions in Austria
This action led to lively discussions not only in Austria and triggered numerous publications that dealt with the demands of the people of the church.
The then Bishop of Graz, Johann Weber , rejected the method of collecting signatures, but saw it as an impetus for the church “not to stay seated”. The Burgenland Bishop Paul Iby said that he could imagine married priests and the admission of women to the diaconate . Clear rejections, however, came from Auxiliary Bishop Andreas Laun and St. Pölten Bishop Kurt Krenn .
The bishops responded in September 1996 with the “pilgrimage of diversity” to Mariazell under the motto “arguing and praying”, to which 5000 people came and at which numerous discussion events took place.
In October 1998 the “Dialogue for Austria” took place in Salzburg , at which 300 delegates from various Catholic organizations discussed with the bishops. Amongst other things was a majority for ordination of married men to the priesthood voted and for the diaconate of women. These concerns were passed on by the bishops to Pope John Paul II during the following “ ad limina visit ” to Rome .
See also
literature
- Peter Paul Kaspar : The silence of the cardinal and the desire of the church people . Kulturverlag, Thaur et al. 1995, ISBN 3-85400-001-4
- Barbara Krenn: Church referendum. A success story of the church base? In: The lexicon for Austria in 20 volumes . Volume 9. Duden, Mannheim et al. 2006, ISBN 3-411-17620-2
- Andreas Laun : Church of Jesus or Church of the Basis? To the church referendum . Adamas, Cologne 1996, ISBN 978-3925746734
- Richard Picker : Holy balancing act. A manual for the people who desire the Church . Va Bene, Vienna a. Klosterneuburg 2001, ISBN 3-85167-108-2
- Mari Plankensteiner-Spiegel (editor): Love, Eros, Sexuality. "Herd letter" and accompanying texts . Thaur, Vienna et al. 1996, ISBN 3-85400-024-3
- Thomas Plankensteiner: God's runaway children. On the theology of the desire of the church people . Thaur, Vienna et al. 1996, ISBN 3-85400-033-2
- Norbert Scholl : Good news instead of threatening news. The Biblical Foundations of Church Folk Desire . Styria, Graz et al. 1997, ISBN 3-222-12491-4
- Donato Squicciarini : Contribution to a dialogue on the issues of the popular desire in the light of the Second Vatican Council and the post-conciliar documents . Apostol. Nunciature, Vienna 1995