Munich's Vicar General Peter Beer wants a fundamental realignment in church labor law. He warned against trying to clarify theological-dogmatic doctrinal ies over labor law ies.
Beer spoke at a conference of the Research Center for Church Labor Law at the University of Tubingen in Stuttgart.
Beer described the mission derived from the Gospel as central to the Catholic Church. He said this is fundamentally about better and more social conditions for the whole world. In this context, he asked the question: "Is the labor law of the churches really seen as a sign for a better world??"
The law is often used, he said, to make it easier to separate from employees because of a perceived breach of duty – for example, in their personal lives. Referring to the concept of the missionary mandate, Beer said that the question of whether someone is a good caregiver is shown by whether they are there when they are needed and not by their sexual orientation.
A question of loyalty
For Beer, who has been leading a working group on the new conception of Catholic labor law for three years on behalf of the German Bishops' Conference, this labor law must be the "sign and tool of a positive vision of the world" as an "attractiveness factor".
The concept of loyalty often used in labor disputes is, in the view of the vicar general, often one-sidedly focused on the employee. This must be overcome, he said, because it is a matter of employers and employees together being "loyal to the mission.".
Even after the two rulings of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on church labor law in Germany, Stefan Greiner, a legal scholar from Bonn, sees room for maneuver "to develop church labor law further with courage and trust in God". Although the EU's highest legal body has limited the autonomy claims enshrined in the Basic Law with its two landmark rulings, "there remains a residue".
Greiner recommended the churches to emphasize and document the specific church character of an activity in job advertisements. If there is no such mission, denominational affiliation should not be a selection criterion.