Synod elite plotting nothing other than the overthrew of Bishops
Kaineder: Upgrading synodality vis-à-vis hierarchy in church
The KAÖ President told German church media: This should be concretised, among other things, in the appointment of bishops through the inclusion of the local church - Bishops should again place more emphasis on Catholic Action instead of "Movimenti".
The two ecclesiastical principles "synodal" and "hierarchical" must be in a right relationship to each other. The President of Catholic Action Austria (KAÖ), Ferdinand Kaineder, has spoken out in favour of this. Synodality - understood as a broad form of decision-making - had been neglected in the past decades. "Therefore, for example, bishop appointments would also have to be linked to the principle of an election and with transparency," Kaineder pleaded for more balance. "The local Church cannot simply sit there and wait in amazement to see what is in store for it," the KAÖ president stated in the podcast "Himmelklar", which can be heard on "domradio.de" and at "katholisch.de", among others.
Kaineder, who used to be in charge of communications for the religious orders, also pleaded for greater consideration of the experiences of the religious orders when implementing more synodality. The religious orders stand for a "synodal, co-operative, collegial and democratic church". In the election of superiors, he said, no bishop had to give his approval. "The fact that one doesn't dare to take this experience and this model into account much more also in the diocesan Church, I am often surprised."
Cathcon: Catholic faith and morals are unlikely to be distorted in the monastic world, unlike in a Diocese. The franchise is rather more limited in a monastery than Mr Kaineder would want in a Diocese.
In the interview, Kaineder referred to further common concerns with the Catholics in Germany, as they had been clearly formulated in the Synodal Way there. "First and foremost" he named the equality of women in the Church and more co-determination for lay people. "From my point of view, it has also reached the bishops that the women's question is really the most virulent issue," Kaineder said. "We ourselves speak here of a kind of constitutional defect inherent in the Church, which is that the sexes are treated differently." If the World Church Synodal Process proclaimed by the Pope does not result in a change in Church law, it "will not really be purposeful," Kaineder underlined.
"Appreciate the Synodal Path very much"
Commenting on the tensions and disputes that accompany the Synodal Path in Germany, the KAÖ President said: "I appreciate the Synodal Path very much, also this way of meeting and the body language of coming together, which is clear in thought and fixed on the synodal habitus." Such communication "at eye level" could be experienced in Austria at the synodal consultations of bishops, lay people and other church representatives in Mariazell.
He himself was present in Bratislava at the European Social Days of the European Bishops' Conference, Kaineder reported. There, the different "body shapes" of the national local churches became very clear. This must be taken into account in the implementation of church reforms. The universal Church "will not be able to avoid giving more space to regional references", the KAÖ President indirectly spoke out in favour of different speeds.
Church must "show profile"
He expressed regret about the fact of increasing distance from the church. This was even evident among people who had been involved in the Church and had "grown tired". As Kaineder explained on Wednesday in a KAÖ dispatch on his interviews in Germany, the Church must "show profile" and create new incentives to win people back. He said that people are oriented towards community; the Church can provide spaces where people meet each other and find an open ear with their concerns. "At the same time, the Church must raise its voice for people who are no longer heard or want to be heard, in society as well as in politics."
In this respect, Catholic Action sees itself as a source of impulses and as the "avant-garde of a new ecclesial presence", said its President. In the last two to three decades, he said, several bishops in Austria had placed more emphasis on the so-called spiritual movements ("Movimenti") and less on Catholic Action and its diverse and colourful presence - although it is the official and largest lay organisation - with independent organisations for women and men, children and young people, workers and academics. "People have also distanced themselves a little and have also given us fewer resources." KAÖ wants to "reverse" this development and "win the bishops back more for actually relying on this tried and tested form of Catholic Action".
Cathcon: Under this system, a Bishop would become a politician dependent entirely on the grace and favour of the local laity, who would determine positions on faith and morals applying in the Diocese. It is an enemy of Catholic truth. No wonder Bishops have run for the hills when Mr Kaineder and Catholic Action approach them.
.jpeg)
Comments