Salzburg Pastoral Conference is a synodalist's paradise

Synodality is a salutary recipe not only for the Church

Steinmair-Pösel at Pastoral Conference in Salzburg: "Contribution of the Church to a reeling world" beyond violent conflict resolution

The synodal communication currently moving the Church and a synodal culture of dialogue, discussion and conflict based on it "could also be a forward-looking contribution of the Church for a fragmented society". With this thought, the social ethicist and rector of the Kirchliche Pädagogische Hochschule (Church College of Education) (KPH) Edith Stein in Innsbruck, Petra Steinmair-Pösel, emphasised on the closing day of the Austrian Pastoral Conference in Salzburg on Saturday that the spiritual reform process proclaimed by Pope Francis on the local, continental and universal Church levels not only has internal Catholic significance, but should also be seen as a "listening cultural change" as a "contribution of the Church for a reeling world".

The conviction of Steinmair-Pösel, who was also significantly responsible for the final editing of the Austrian "National Synthesis on the Synodal Process" and will represent Austria together with Archbishop Franz Lackner, pastoral theologian Regina Polak and Salzburg theologian, Markus Welte at the European Continental Assembly of the World Synod in Prague in February: "This synodal approach is something our world urgently needs now." Instead of seeking confrontation or declaring war, "we need processes that allow differences to be expressed, heard and matured, that we can be on the path together without the need to destroy anyone," the theologian said, referring to the Pope. It is hard work and requires patience to "create and sustain processes of listening to each other" for lasting peace.

Synodality in a culturally, religiously and ideologically plural world also involves walking together with and valuing the "others", Steinmair-Pösel explained. Based on the feedback, it is clear to her that the process that has been started should definitely be continued, and the understanding and practice of synodality should be further developed and deepened. The method of spiritual conversation ("spiritual conversation"), which will also be used at the pre-synodal assembly in Mariazell in the summer of 2022, has met with broad approval worldwide; it provides for "genuine listening" - for the rector, the first step on the way to more inclusion and participation.

Steinmair-Pösel admitted that there were structural obstacles in the church that needed to be removed. Reform concerns from the synodal consultation that can be taken up and implemented locally should be implemented immediately. In the case of concerns that cannot be implemented locally, the faithful in Austria would like them to be addressed at the appropriate higher level. The theologian basically stated: "Synodality builds centrally on community, participation and co-responsibility of all the baptised.

The second conference speaker on Saturday morning, the Melk theologian and philosopher, Jakob Helmut Deibl, invited the audience to discuss literary texts in which both the conference theme of "presence" and farewell or absence are expressed. The Bible knows many motifs of a permanent presence of God and philosophy speaks of God as the "most real being", but at the same time there is no direct experience of God. In aesthetic language forms, transitions between being there and being absent could approach this in many stimulating ways.

"Quite the best encounters"

Otto Neubauer, Director of the Academy for Dialogue and Evangelisation in Vienna, enriched his talk on Friday afternoon about "Pretty Best Encounters" with a film about Philippe Pozzo di Borgo, a paraplegic whose experiences with his unconventional care assistant were the basis for the successful French film "Pretty Best Friends": he was fascinated by this touching story about someone who took new courage in life and contacted Pozzo di Borgo, who has become a friend of his in the meantime. And he was the impetus for the many dialogue evenings with prominent contemporaries that have taken place at the Academy in recent years. The Frenchman's advice is not to want to change people, but to "meet people", in other words: simply meet them without intention. The only method is to be authentic oneself ("I simply need to be true") and to give up the security of one's own community, but also of religion.

Supported by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Neubauer, who is influenced by the Catholic Emmanuel community, implements this by building bridges to religious, agnostic and atheist celebrities such as Robert Menasse, Gerhard Bronner, Barbara Stöckl or Josef Hader - not in church rooms but in public places "where people feel comfortable". In its aftermath, for example, a meeting between Schönborn and Life Ball organiser Gery Keszler at his home caused a stir, leading to a memorial service for AIDS victims in St. Stephen's Cathedral - and to this day to hate messages from outraged people about this allegedly "inappropriate coalition", as Neubauer reported.

He himself was not free of prejudices, the theologian and book author confessed to the auditorium, and often had qualms about simply calling people and asking for a dialogue within the framework of the Academy. The nonchalant advice of the left-wing publicist Günther Nenning, who became a believer late in life, was helpful to him: "Don't... give a damn!"

Neubauer cited a sentence from the Pastoral Constitution of the Second Vatican Council as programmatic for "pretty much the best encounters": "Everyone, without exception, must regard their neighbour as another self."

Workshops invite to "thinking without boundaries"

"Thinking without boundaries" and the use of a "social media"-affine language is necessary in order for the church to get in touch with otherwise hard-to-reach population groups via the internet. Sebastian Riedel, who has been working for two years as a consultant for missionary pastoral work in the Archdiocese of Salzburg, pointed this out in one of the 14 workshops at the pastoral conference on the topic of "Faith Communication on the Net". Digital proclamation of faith had experienced an enormous upswing in the course of the Corona pandemic - and this will continue, the expert said. The target group is not only young people, but also older people who now use the internet in their daily routine.

Riedel gave some examples of successful attempts to bring people into contact with religion in this way: A "church for your pocket" that has been meeting exclusively in the digital space since Advent 2021 is https://betakirche.de; "Wegfinder" is the name of a podcast that invites people to "follow Jesus (in) a complex world"; the German theologian, Lisa Quarch acts as a kind of Catholic "influencer" on Tiktok. And in Salzburg, Riedel was already involved in a creative presentation of the "Long Night of the Churches" on YouTube in 2021.

In another workshop, the Viennese theologian Stephanie Bayer invited a change of perspective on "trans* persons". For people who withdraw from the usual gender classifications are more than just a fad, but are often present - often unrecognised - in the midst of the church. Many of those interviewed by Bayer in the course of her dissertation had experienced exclusion, constriction through identity templates and prejudices. The theologian pleaded for an inviting pastoral care that takes non-binary people seriously. And besides pastoral care, Christian anthropology will also have to prove itself willing to learn.

"Being Present. Ways to quality pastoral care" was the theme of the Austrian Pastoral Conference that ended on Saturday afternoon with about 250 participating experts from pastoral care, religious education and church organisations from Austria and abroad. A conference volume will summarise the presentations. Gabriele Eder-Cakl, Secretary General of the Austrian Pastoral Institute, who will take over from her predecessor Walter Krieger in March, announced that the next conference in January 2024 will focus on "Economy and Church".

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