Traditionalist order receiving Vatican help following allegations against its late founder

SJM order works with Vatican help on behaviour of founder, Father Andreas Hönisch

Cathcon: the SJM is biritual, saying both the new Mass and the Latin Mass.  Archbishop Gänswein conducted their ordinations at the end of last year.

The Order of the Servants of Jesus and Mary emerged from a split in the Scout movement. After a complaint in Rome about the deceased founder Andreas Hönisch, the order is now supposed to work through the story with external help.

The Congregation of Servants of Jesus and Mary ("Servi Jesu et Mariae", SJM) is investigating the history of its founder Andreas Hönisch with the help of an "Apostolic Assistant" appointed by the Vatican. When asked, the spokesman for the community explained to catholic.de that the investigation and the appointment of the Passionist Father Gregor Lenzen did not represent a Papal visitation. With reference to a letter from the Dicastery of the Order, it is said that a person with "critical inquiries" about Hönisch turned to Rome. However, the content of these inquiries was not specified in more detail.

According to the order, the appointment of Lenzen "in no way abolishes, affects or restricts" the autonomy and ability to act of the order. Even before the appointment, the Order had initiated a process of reflection on the role of its founder. The role of an "Apostolic Assistant" in an investigation is not defined in Canon Law. In the case of the SJM, the assistant is said to have the opportunity to be present at thematic meetings of the General Government, to have access to the archive of the fellowship and to have one-on-one interviews with members. This completes the list of rights. Lenzen was appointed Apostolic Assistant in October for a period of three years. The order's information had been agreed with the assistant. Lenzen did not want to comment on catholic.de himself. The Order's Dicastery did not respond to an inquiry.

Originating in a split in the Boy Scout movement

In 1976, Father Hönisch, who originally belonged to the Jesuit order, was one of the founders of the Catholic Scouts of Europe (KPE). The Boy Scout Association was founded in contrast to developments that were felt to be too progressive in the German Boy Scout Association of St. Georg (DPSG). Hönisch was the Federal Board of Trustees of the KPE until his death in 2008. In a dispute with his order about the activity in the KPE, Hönisch was expelled from the Jesuits and was initially a diocesan priest in Augsburg. In 1988 he was one of the founders of the Servants of Jesus and Mary, which was recognized by the Holy See as a Congregation under Pontifical Law in 1994. Hönisch was Superior General of the Order until his death. Before founding the order, he had suggested that KPE members interested in the priesthood should become members of the "Engelwerk". In the past, the SJM was criticized for its proximity to the "Engelwerk" and traditionalist positions, among other things. The order itself describes its charism with the keywords "Ignatian spirituality, consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, love for the Eucharistic Lord, esteem for the liturgy, fidelity to the Papal magisterium, youth work according to scout pedagogy and simple life according to the example of family in Nazareth".

In January, the order announced that it would take a closer look at what it says it has been doing several years ago about its founding phase and the history of Hönisch. The merits of the founder "should not hide his human weaknesses, which in some areas were naturally also reflected in the structure and practice of the then young community," the order said. These included issues such as empowerment and appropriate spiritual direction. The founding period of a religious community is a pioneering period in which one-sidedness and mistakes can easily occur.

The servants of Jesus and Mary are still closely connected to the KPE today. The Scout Association was recognized as a private canonical association by the German Bishops' Conference (DBK) at the end of 2021. In the past, many German dioceses have resisted the KPE's desire to settle there because they were classified as fundamentalist. The recognition had led to protests from those affected by sexualised violence and youth associations. The DBK defended its decision. As part of a process, the youth commission of the DBK would have discussed various questions "on the past and realignment of the KPE and cleared up reservations". Since 2012, the KPE has been in regular contact with the youth pastoral care center (afj) of the DBK on theological and educational issues. The Bund der Deutschen Katholische Jugend (BDKJ) and the scout associations DPSG and PSG also took part in the talks.

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