A good year has passed since cases of sexual abuse of children and young people by priests and religious were made public at the Canisius College in Berlin. What followed was a year that plunged the Catholic Church in Germany into an unprecedented crisis. The picture that emerges today is ambivalent:
Much has been done to do justice to the victims, to come to terms with injustice and to get to the bottom of the causes of abuse, concealment and double standards within the company's own ranks. After initial horror, many responsible Christians, both in and out of office, have come to realize that far-reaching reforms are necessary. The call for an open dialogue about power and communication structures, about the shape of the church office and the participation of the faithful in responsibility, about morality and sexuality has raised expectations, but also fears: Will the perhaps last chance for a new beginning out of paralysis and resignation be squandered by sitting out the crisis or talking it down?? The unrest of an open dialogue without taboos is not comfortable for everyone, especially when a papal visit is imminent. But the alternative: grave rest because the last hopes have been dashed, it can certainly not be.
The deep crisis of our church demands that we also address those problems which, at first glance, do not seem to have anything directly to do with the abuse scandal and its decades-long cover-up. As professors of theology, we can no longer remain silent. We see it as our responsibility to contribute to a genuine new beginning: 2011 must be a year of new beginnings for the church. In the past year, more Christians than ever before have left the Catholic Church; they have resigned their allegiance to the church leadership or have privatized their faith life in order to protect it from the institution. The church must understand these signs and move out of ossified structures in order to regain new vitality and credibility.
The renewal of church structures will not succeed in fearful isolation from society, but only with the courage to be self-critical and to accept critical impulses – also from outside. This is one of the lessons of the past year: the abuse crisis would not have been dealt with so decisively without the critical accompaniment of the general public. Only through open communication can the church regain trust. The church will only be credible if there is no discrepancy between how it sees itself and how it sees others. We turn to all those who have not yet given up hoping for a new beginning in the church and who are committed to it. We take up the signals of departure and dialogue that some bishops have given in speeches, sermons and interviews during the last months.
The church is not an end in itself. The church has the task of proclaiming the liberating and loving God of Jesus Christ to all people. It can only do this if it is itself a place and a credible witness to the Gospel's message of freedom. Its speech and actions, its rules and structures – its entire dealings with people inside and outside the church – are subject to the claim to recognize and promote the freedom of people as God's creatures. Unconditional respect for every human person, respect for freedom of conscience, commitment to law and justice, solidarity with the poor, and
Afflicted: These are theologically fundamental standards that result from the church's commitment to the Gospel. This is where love for God and neighbor becomes concrete.
Orientation to the biblical message of freedom includes a differentiated relationship to modern society: In some respects, it is ahead of the church when it comes to the recognition of freedom, maturity and responsibility of the individual; the church can learn from this, as the Second Vatican Council already emphasized. In other respects, criticism of this society from the spirit of the Gospel is indispensable, for example, where people are judged only by their performance, where mutual solidarity is undermined, or where human dignity is disregarded.
In any case, however, the message of freedom in the Gospel is the standard for a credible church, for its actions and its social form. The concrete challenges that the church must face are by no means new. Future-oriented reforms can be recognized nevertheless hardly. The open dialogue about this must be conducted in the following areas of action.
1. Structures of participation: In all fields of church life, the participation of believers is a touchstone for the credibility of the Gospel's message of freedom. According to the old legal principle "What concerns all, shall be decided by all", more synodal structures are needed at all levels of the Church. The faithful are to be involved in the appointment of important ministers (bishop, pastor). What can be decided locally should be decided there. Decisions must be transparent.
2. Parish: Christian parishes are supposed to be places where people share spiritual and material goods with each other. But at present, parish life is eroding. Under the prere of a shortage of priests, ever larger administrative units – "XXL parishes" – are being constructed, in which closeness and belonging can hardly be experienced any more. Historical identities and evolved social networks are abandoned. Priests are "burned out" and burn out. Believers stay away if they are not trusted to take responsibility and participate in the leadership of their congregation in more democratic structures. The ministry of the church must serve the life of the congregations – not the other way around. The church also needs married priests and women in church office.
3. Legal culture: Recognition of the dignity and freedom of every human being is demonstrated precisely when conflicts are settled fairly and with mutual respect. Ecclesiastical law only deserves this name if the faithful can actually assert their rights. Legal protection and legal culture in the church urgently need to be improved; a first step toward this is the establishment of an ecclesiastical administrative jurisdiction.
4. Freedom of conscience: Respect for the individual conscience means placing trust in people's ability to make decisions and ame responsibility. To support this ability is also the task of the Church; but it must not turn into paternalism. Getting serious about this particularly affects the area of personal life choices and individual lifestyles. The church's esteem for marriage and the celibate way of life is beyond question. But it does not command to exclude people who responsibly live love, fidelity and mutual concern in a same-sex partnership or as remarried divorcees.
5. Reconciliation: solidarity with "sinners" requires taking sin seriously in one's own ranks. Self-righteous moral rigorism does not suit the church well. The church cannot preach reconciliation with God without itself creating in its own actions the conditions for reconciliation with those against whom it has become guilty: through violence, through the withholding of justice, through the transmutation of the biblical message of freedom into a rigorous morality without mercy.
6. Worship: The liturgy lives from the active participation of all believers. The experiences and expressions of the present must have a place in it. Worship must not ossify into traditionalism. Cultural diversity enriches the life of worship and is not compatible with tendencies toward centralized uniformity. Only when the celebration of faith takes up concrete life situations will the church's message reach the people.
The process of ecclesial dialogue that has begun can lead to liberation and new beginnings if all those involved are willing to tackle the pressing ies. It is necessary to search for solutions in a free and fair exchange of arguments that will lead the church out of its paralyzing self-preoccupation. The storm of the past year must not be followed by calm! In the current situation, this could only be grave rest. Fear has never been a good advisor in times of crisis. Christians are challenged by the Gospel to look to the future with courage and – in response to Jesus' words – to walk on water like Peter: "Why are you so afraid?? Is your faith so small?"