Germany: Dare a new Beginning

The German Churches’ biggest bi-annual meeting, Katholikentag, or “ Catholicday”, is drawing to a close in the city of Mannheim, with particular focus being placed on how to restructure the organisation of the Church to a changing reality, under the motto Dare a new Beginning. From Mannheim, Fr. Bernd Hagenkord S.J. reports: Listen

If one would like to get to know the whole German Catholic Church in just a few days, a Katholikentag would be the place to go. Every facet of her life is present, all groups, organizations and initiatives.

A strong framework of prayer and liturgy holds the meeting together, and in between one finds meetings, presentations, discussions, forums and a lot of music and art.

However, despite the good atmosphere, the situation the Church is in is a rather difficult one.
The word to describe the situation most participants here in Mannheim would choose is crisis: crisis of confidence and trust, expressed in the scandals about sexual abuse, but also deeply rooted in the way a lot of transformations are being handled. Germany currently undergoes a change of it structures, the old parish system no longer holds for lack of priests and of parishioners. There is too much administration and not enough creativity in the bureaucracy, especially when it comes to the restructuring of the parish system.

A wide area of this Katholikentag is especially dedicated to this question, it became a fair to exchange ideas and projects.

There also is a lot of culture, all the aid-organizations are presenting their work, the environment is a huge issue, as well as all aspects of the question of respect for human life. For the first time there is a two day forum on scientific issues, not only theology, but all related and interested sciences are present.

The atmosphere is friendly, partly due to the fact, that the meeting is outdoors and everything is mixed with the normal life of Mannheim, the city the meeting is taken place. However, there is another factor, too: Germanys Church is famous for its critical voices and always has been. This time, the issues in question are being discussed without the harshness normally accompanying the issue. The media are not very present here, also in Germany the wider public tends not to be interested in faith-issues. All that is contributing to the atmosphere here in Mannheim.

As all the organizers agree: This Katholikentag is not so much an event as a part in a longer process. All the Catholics here take part in it. The papal visit became part of it, and there are other smaller meetings, too. The 40.000 participants during these days realize, that a rapid and wide ranging change is coming, and with all the activities here they are being part of that change.