Fiercely anti-Traditionalist Synod participant : "Let us be surprised". No let's not be!

Father Bernhard about his new book and the current World Synod

Father Berhard is a member of the anti-Latin Mass cabal at Saint Anselmo.  Pope Francis has appointed him one of the Advisors to the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

Bernhard Andreas Eckerstorfer OSB was born in Linz in 1971. In 2000 he entered Kremsmünster Abbey, where, among other things, he Novice master and cleric master, press spokesman and high school teacher. Since 2019 he has been rector of the Benedictine College of the Pontifical Athenaeum of Sant'Anselmo in Rome. Before the book presentation he visited the VOLKSBLATT.

Bernhard Andreas Eckerstorfer OSB was born in Linz in 1971. In 2000 he entered Kremsmünster Abbey, where, among other things, he Novice master and cleric master, press spokesman and high school teacher. Since 2019 he has been rector of the Benedictine College of the Pontifical Athenaeum of Sant'Anselmo in Rome. Before the book presentation he visited the VOLKSBLATT.©

VOLKSBLATT: Your new book is called “Snapshots” - as a theologian in particular, you tend to have eternity in mind?

P. BERNHARD ECKERSTORFER: We monks in particular are trying to bring eternity into this world. And the monasteries in particular live very much in the present; they are intertwined economically and pastorally. If you want to live spiritually, then the moment is everything. I live in the moment, now and not in the past and not in the future. The key to a spiritual life is to live in the moment — and every moment is important.

Is there or what is the difference for you between a snapshot and a candid snap?

For me, a snapshot has a message, a snapshot is random. Moments arise when you can be amazed and allow God to touch you. Often you don't even notice it at the moment, but rather in retrospect: like the Emmaus disciples, who only realized afterwards that Jesus was traveling with them.

In it you talk a lot about your experiences as a teacher and about life in a monastery, both professions where there is currently a shortage of young people. Was that also a motivation for the book?

The idea came from Tyrolia Verlag, but I see it as my job as a priest and theologian to bring God up on all different levels. Also to make others think. And probably many people can do more with a story like this than with an article in a theological journal.

You were recently in Lisbon for World Youth Day – were you able to take snapshots there?

There were many things there.

The church is in a period of change, both locally and globally. In Upper Austria they are currently trying to create a new parish structure and a path for the future. How do you assess this development - as an involved observer from a distance?

With interest. The entire religious landscape is in transition. But I have a lot of optimism because I see that questions of meaning, that God plays a big role. Something is changing institutionally and I believe that it is important to move forward courageously and not to polarize. I think it's dangerous when people have easy answers. And it's about finding ways in which God can be experienced.

On a global level, the Pope has just opened the Synod of Bishops. What expectations do you have?

That the church increasingly proclaims God's kingdom and makes it tangible. It turns out that the church is on the move with people and has to arrive in today. I was at the opening Mass in St. Peter's Square and Pope Francis made it clear that it was about deepening the faith. Polarization would be dangerous. The real church reform is to put God back at the centre.

Nevertheless, it is also about concrete things. Keyword: women's diaconate?

We as German speakers always expect concrete results. The Pope as a South American and large parts of the universal Church are experiencing a fruitful process of dialogue. It would be dangerous to have too high expectations and demand results. The Pope warns against pushing through one's own interests. Let us be surprised by the Spirit of God.

And election to office?

The Church has a lot of experience with participation, with the Synodal Path. But I believe it would not be appropriate if we transferred our secular means 1:1 to the Church. Church must not become elitist, but the Pope is very much about listening to what is important to ordinary people. Moreover, it is ultimately a great achievement that the Pope freely appoints bishops. That creates unity. The Catholic Church is the only religious institution that is one across the world when it celebrates - for example, at World Youth Day; one is what it believes; and one is who it recognises as its head. This unity is a great good and it is therefore important that the Pope plays a central role.

At least in the run-up, there has already been some irritation - how united is the Catholic Church really?

We have to see unity where faith is lived: in the liturgy. Unity is present and celebrated together right down to the last nest of Austria, Nigeria or Myanmar. If the church becomes all too political and becomes a lobbyist for certain causes - within the church or outside it - then there is a danger that the church will be perceived in a polarising way and will only concern itself with itself. And we in the German-speaking world have to learn that we are no longer the navel of the world. At the Synod, German is no longer even an official language ... After all, we have many international students from African and Asian dioceses and the young Church, as I experience it, is on the move. We can learn from them what it means to live intensively and we can give them experience of a Church that is structurally organised to the last detail. And it is difficult for us, but we must also learn to let go again.

You will probably be going to Rome again soon. What do you miss most in?

I've only really appreciated Austrian food since I've been abroad. And we should highly appreciate what and how everything works in Austria. Many of our students come from countries where there is war or churches are burned down. And also the climate: winter in Rome is actually not nice.

Source

Cathcon:  But throughout this Pontificate, the Pope has always exceeded increasingly low expectations and produced the worst of all possible results.