School

The Catholic German Bishops' Conference is organizing a so-called national Eucharistic Congress next year, which will be hosted by the Archdiocese of Cologne. The idea was born in 2010, which was "a year of horror and pain" for the church, Meisner said. "Sexual abuses have come to light in the realm of the Church that I personally would never have thought possible. The church has been bleeding from many wounds since then."It is still open, however, whether the problem of abuse will be explicitly addressed during the meeting.

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Dr. Gunther Fleischer (left) in conversation © DR

The expectations for the synod held on 4. October in the Vatican beginning 14. Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops are high. For three weeks, bishops will address the topic of "The vocation and mission of the family in the church and the world today". The course of the extraordinary synod last fall, as well as the questionnaires sent out twice, have shown that there is much need for discussion here and that tempers are running high on some irritant topics.

The church historian Arnold Angenendt © Cristian Gennari (KNA)

Even in the small potato fields of the Lower Rhine, great thinkers can get their start. Arnold Angenendt is such a person. With his weak stature, he was not suited for farming, his parents judged. So after the end of the war in 1945, the mother cycled to the episcopal boarding school Gaesdonck, eight kilometers away, and enrolled her son. A bicycle trip with considerable consequences for research in church history in Germany: The lanky farmer's son from Asperden developed into one of the most renowned church historians of the present day. This Monday Arnold Angenendt turns 85 years old.

Franz-Josef Wagner (76), Axel Springer columnist and writer, says he still feels connected to the church. "The church was the highlight of my childhood week," he told the "Suddeutsche Zeitung" in an interview. Even today, "in this godless Berlin," he goes to the Catholic church: "I'm there for ten minutes, as if for an espresso." Asked if he was going to confession, Wagner explained:

It is a painful process: for the victims, some of whom have kept silent for decades out of shame. And for the Jesuit order itself, facing a severe test. It has been just two weeks since the first cases of abuse at Canisius College in Berlin came to light.

Since then, the scandal has spread to the order's other two schools: St. Blasien in the Black Forest and the Aloisius College in Bonn. In addition, there is the St. Ansgar School in Hamburg, which was run by Jesuits until 1993. The official course of the order seems clear. The public confession of some victims makes an investigation procedure for the complete clarification of the abuse cases "possible and compelling," emphasized the highest-ranking Jesuit representative in Germany, Father Stefan Dartmann. He apologized to the victims in the name of the order. And at the same time he asked for forgiveness for "what those responsible in the Order at the time failed to do in terms of taking a necessary and close look and reacting appropriately. This double admission of personal guilt of individuals and the failure of the religious community meets with approval especially among the younger Jesuit generation. Only an investigation of the crimes "without regard for one's own reputation or possible financial consequences" would help now, writes the rector of the Munich School of Philosophy, Michael Bordt, in an open letter. In the crisis, the 49-year-old insists, there is also an opportunity. Here the strengths of the order could show themselves anew: the commitment to faith and justice, to truth and values.

Jesuit Klaus Mertes © Julia Steinbrecht (KNA)

At the ZdK plenary assembly in Bonn, Mertes said: "If the abuse crisis is defined as a credibility crisis, we are already back to the institution and not to the people concerned."He does not deny that the church is in a crisis of credibility. "But it will not be overcome if the goal is mere restoration of credibility."

The 73-year-old from Wiesbaden has been commissioned by the monks to look through all documented cases and to research weak points in the system. This he is to do "in the closest possible contact" the association "Ettaler abuse and abuse victims", it is said. In the past, the Benedictines have been subjected to sometimes fierce accusations from victims. The preliminary final report has been available since July, but questions remain: Why was nothing made public for so long? How could it come so far at all?

Since Pope John Paul II. In 2002, when John Paul summoned American cardinals to the Vatican for an emergency meeting on the abuse scandals, the church's approach to sexual assault has changed radically. John Paul's second successor, Francis, continues to see a need to catch up, as evidenced by the establishment of an abuse commission to put prevention measures to the test and make suggestions to the pope on how to improve them. On Saturday and Sunday it will deliberate at its first plenary session.

Shakira does it, Roger Federer does it too – Nana Mouskouri has been doing it for a while: With their prominent names, they are committed to the children's relief organization UNICEF, probably the most prominent organization of the United Nations. She turns 60 on Monday. – On the occasion of its founding day, the Children's Fund called for increased investment in the education of girls and women. In many countries in Asia and Africa, being born a girl is tantamount to a death sentence, explained Heide Simonis, Chairwoman of UNICEF Germany.

Hundreds of victims of sexual abuse "have finally had the courage to talk about it in recent years," said Brussels Cardinal Jozef De Kesel at the launch. Above all, he said, it's about acknowledging the damage to victims, their helplessness in the face of the perpetrator, the silence to which they have been condemned, and the damage to their personal development.