Bishops of Germany conclude third of five Dialogue Sessions

[CutlerB]

The Bishops’ Conference of Germany has a programme for dialogue with the laity going that will last five years. The third of five big topical blocks was concluded yesterday.

katholisch.de/de/katholisch/themen/kirche_2/130914_dialogforum_stuttgart_bilanz.php

dbk.de/presse/details/?presseid=2385&cHash=3f737fcf363c0710dd2935971b4d10bd

The last meeting was entitled “Liturgy: Encountering the Sacred – worshipping God today” and focussed on the Liturgy. Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, president of the Conference and who is retiring at the end of the year, more than 30 other Bishops and Alois Glück, president of the Central committee of German Catholics (Zentralkomitee deutscher Katholiken) took part, along with more than 200 other representatives and laity.

Mr Glück commented that he liked that the laity are no longer seen as “complaining Reform-Catholics”. He pointed out that his particular interest for the future was to address the admission of divorced and remarried Catholics to all the Sacraments, which he calls “full participation in the life of the Church”, and demanded “convincing solutions”.

The celebration of the Sacraments of Matrimony, Baptism and Anointing of the Sick was discussed, as was “diversity of liturgical forms”, congregational prayer, pilgrimages and retreats to monasteries.

The Bishop of Essen, Franz-Josef Overbeck, added that one could get lost in the unimportant: Clerics could “talk themselves into rage” over the direction of prayer, and lay people could “fill an entire evening with discussions about which accessories a child should have for his First Communion”.

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When I read the title of the forum, I was thinking “There’ll be a reference to Summorum Pontificum in a minute, just a few more lines!” but was disappointed, especially since it’s its birthday today.

 

[godisgood77]

I was not aware of this. Thanks for posting! The bishops conference should be commended and there actions replicated.

 

[CutlerB]

I was not aware of this. Thanks for posting! The bishops conference should be commended and there actions replicated.

You’re welcome, I feel it’s my duty to post the German news here

The forums were instituted after the sexual abuse scandals hit Germany about three years ago.

 

[CutlerB]

Some of the comments from visitors of the forum:

“Women could be given faculties to take services of the Word [German “Wortgottesdienste”] and funerals.” — Maria Theresia Opladen, President of the Catholic Women’s Association of Germany

The vice-president of said Association, Birgit Mock, proposes a special “Women’s Liturgy” as part of a “vivid Church” and more inclusion of women in the general Liturgy.

There’s a video of some comments on this website, in German though: katholisch.de/de/katholisch/themen/kirche_2/130917_dialogprozess_frauenverbaende.php

Among them, these:

“[We should examine] how can we celebrate Liturgy in a way that even those far from the Church can grasp how worthy and precious it is. Maybe we should find forms that are more inspiring, with more spontaneity, so it isn’t pressed into fixed forms” — Sister Helene Binder

"Maybe not the classic orientation ‘We all sit in rank and file and look upward’, rather, I think, Mass can be made more dialogue-like, just as the homily can be.

“A very important point is language. How is that which is said in the Liturgy made understandable, and how can we testify to it in the world in a way that reaches people?”* — Reinhard Cardinal Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising*

“Do young people have to understand the Church’s liturgy, or does the Church have to understand the world of young people?”

“How can we get young people interested in the Liturgy? How do we kindle the passion for it and make them want to go to Mass?”

“The obsession of ‘everything must be strictly organised’ must be overcome” — Alois Glück, President of the Central Committee of German Catholics

“I grew up with liturgy, we took part, and after some years the will arose to shape it together with others and to play with it. The liturgy gives us many areas to play with.”

After hearing some of the above comments, I would not want to have been there. “Play” with the Sacred Liturgy?! If Father Z speaks German, I should have asked him to go there, I think…