Does the Catholic Church still need the priesthood? A subversive response.
Knop: Church needs priesthood "without special clerical worlds".
The Erfurt theologian pleads at "Salzburg University Weeks" for further development of the theology of ministry - It is not the ministry itself that should be questioned but the form in which it is exercised.
Does the Catholic Church still need the priesthood? The waters ran high when, at the second Synodal Assembly of the "Synodal Path" in Germany last autumn, the Forum was given the mandate to discuss this question by a majority of one vote. The wording of the motion was "more than unfortunate", the Erfurt theologian Julia Knop admitted afterwards. The question should not be whether the priesthood is needed but how it should be filled. "It is not possible without the ministry, but perhaps without structural clericalism, without special clerical worlds," Knop said in a lecture on Tuesday at the "Salzburg University Weeks".
However, this requires a further development of the theology of ministry, in which the priesthood is to be thought of as "post-clerical", without at the same time questioning catholicity. This is not only necessary because of the evidence of the various abuse studies which locate a "toxic" connection between abuse and the understanding of ministry but also quite possible if one distinguishes more precisely between the dimensions of priestly ministry. "In any case, the current concept of ministry is not sustainable. However, I don't want to abolish the ministry because of this but rather save it," said Knop during her lecture, which was a continuation of her opening lecture of the University Weeks on Monday.
According to Knop, one must distinguish between ordination/priestly ordination, the "ordo"/priestly state, the personal vocation and the job description itself. Problems such as the systemic susceptibility to abuse that has been identified arise above all against the background of the thinking of status, Knop explained. By differentiating between laity and clergy in the Catholic Church and by even further establishing this in official church documents over the past 20 years, a systemic two-class society is established in the church, which promotes abuse and cover-ups.
In contrast, she said, a church is very much conceivable in which the ordained ministry is fulfilled "post-clerically" - in the form of ordained ministers who are appointed full-time to their ministry as clergy. "If priestly identity is no longer seen in the distinction between laity and clergy, this distinction loses its destructive power." At the same time, this would contribute to a higher level of professionalism and less classism, as Knop expressed her conviction. And ultimately this would also correspond to the direction of Pope Francis, who most recently warned at a Mass for the Patronal Feast of Saints Peter and Paul in St. Peter's Basilica at the end of June that a cleric who becomes clericalised has taken the wrong path.
The "Salzburg University Weeks" continue until 7 July and this year's theme is "How do we proceed? On the future of the knowledge society". In lectures, workshops and discussions, students and academics from the fields of theology, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences, among others, will meet. Founded in 1931, the "Salzburg University Weeks" are considered the oldest and largest summer university in the German-speaking world.
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