What is a "Spiritual Process Accompaniment Development Unit"? Austrian bishops take their marching orders from Synodalists.

Austrian  Bishops' Conference to meet in Mariazell starting next Monday

Bishops discuss world church guidelines on Synodality at summer plenary session from 19 to 21 June

Under the chairmanship of Archbishop Franz Lackner, the Austrian Bishops' Conference will meet for its summer plenary session in Mariazell on Monday, 19 June. The topic of the three-day deliberations will be the content guidelines for the Synod of Bishops to be held in autumn on the topic of synodality. The plenary assembly will start with a study afternoon on religious education, the Secretary General of the Bishops' Conference, Peter Schipka, told Kathpress.

The main point of the consultations is the working document ("Instrumentum laboris") for the Synod of Bishops in October in the Vatican, which is expected in these days. The Bishops' Conference has invited two speakers from Germany: the Diocesan bishop of Fulda, Michael Gerber, who will be present by video, and the nun and theologian, Igna Kramp. The members of the national synod team and participants in the continental assembly in Prague will also take part in the discussions of the episcopate on this topic. They are the Viennese pastoral theologian and sociologist of religion Prof. Regina Polak, the Innsbruck Caritas director Elisabeth Rathgeb, the rector of the Kirchliche Pädagogische Hochschule (KPH) in Innsbruck, Petra Steinmair-Pösel, the Salzburg theologian Markus Welte and the Bishops' Conference's European officer Johannes Moravitz.

(Click on the links and judge for yourself the quality of advice that is being provided to the Conference) 

A meeting with the Apostolic Nuncio in Austria, Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana, is also planned for Wednesday, 21 June. At the end of the Plenary Assembly, the Austrian bishops will celebrate a festive service at 11.15 a.m. in the Pilgrimage Basilica of Mariazell, to which the faithful are invited. The diocesan bishop of Linz, Manfred Scheuer, will preside over the mass. The Vice-President of the Bishops' Conference will also preach.

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The following article says much about the two speakers from Germany- is this the future? 

Sr Igna Kramp CJ heads the "Spiritual Process Accompaniment Development Unit"

06.12.20 - Like the entire Church in Germany, the Diocese of Fulda is undergoing tremendous change. This makes it all the more important to adapt competently to it. In the diocese of Fulda there are a number of parishes and pastoral associations that are committed to this change. The situation of upheaval not only affects the areas of finances, structures and personnel, but also the core question: How can the mission of the Church be concretised in the world of today? How do people - who are shaped by today - find a living relationship with Jesus Christ and his message?

Bishop Michael Gerber regularly receives important feedback from parishes: "We can only achieve change together and as a search for how God himself wants to change his Church. We need support in how we work together spiritually as a team in the projects we are involved in. Because we want to be able to shape a spiritual process." Therefore, the Diocese of Fulda will create the "Spiritual Process Accompaniment Development Unit" on 1 February 2020. Sr Igna Kramp CJ (Frankfurt am Main) will be in charge.

Offer of spiritual process accompaniment to be reintroduced in 2021

Since taking office, Bishop Gerber has repeatedly emphasised the importance he attaches to established counselling formats such as supervision, organisational counselling, organisational development and coaching. Leaders in church bodies and teams need forms of professional support to be able to analyse current challenges and structure future paths. Dynamics and conflicts are also competently in view, which are inevitable in human interaction and in intensive phases of cooperation. The offer of spiritual process guidance will be introduced in 2021.

In the past 18 months, valuable experience has been made with this - with the specialist groups in the diocese's process for the future ("growing together"): the practical work was supported by spiritual process guidance. Together with Rev. Florian Böth, Sr Igna Kramp CJ was already involved here. As a consultant of the Theological-Pastoral Institute Mainz (TPI), she had the task to accompany the group of process facilitators, to collect common experiences and to open them up for the further search for ways into the future. These concrete experiences were associated with a lot of positive feedback. The competence to spiritually accompany decision-making bodies at the diocesan level, to promote corresponding offers in the area of the diocese as well as to train multipliers for this who become active at the local level was described as necessary.

Bishop Gerber: Expert for a still young accompaniment offer 

Sr Igna Kramp CJ has now been recruited for this task and development area. Her order, the Congregatio Jesu (formerly also known as the "Maria Ward Sisters") has released her to work in the diocese of Fulda for an initial period of five years. Bishop Gerber is very grateful that this step is possible: "Since this is a relatively young accompaniment programme, there are not yet too many people in Germany who have experience with it and have also reflected on it to the extent that they can already train multipliers."

Sr. Igna Kramp CJ is directly assigned to Bishop Gerber as "head of the development area of spiritual process guidance". Sr Igna Kramp CJ will move into an office in the Fulda Bishop's House. At the same time, she will take over the management of the "Spiritual Accompaniment and Retreats" office, which has so far been located in the Pastoral Office.

Sr Igna Kramp CJ, born in 1974, has been a member of the Congregatio Jesu since 2002. She studied history, German and theology. From Fulda she will also be responsible as superior for an Apostolic Community of Sisters who work at various locations. "It is a beautiful sign that with Sr Igna we can continue the beneficial work of her community in the bishop's city. The lasting legacy of the Maria Ward Sisters is the Marienschule, which is also today a very important place of learning and living together for girls and young women," said Bishop Gerber. The order's mission to encounter Jesus more deeply, to follow him more closely and to participate in his mission is now to become effective and tangible in a new and innovative area of church development. 

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