The parish council chairmen Wolfgang Lanzinger and Thorsten Berner are concerned about the abuse study that the archdiocese will publish on Thursday.
Dorfen
– On Thursday, a report on sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising will be published.
"A wave of exits is rolling towards us," fear Wolfgang Lanzinger, chairman of the parish council of the Catholic parish of Maria Dorfen, and his Oberdorf colleague from St. Georg, Thorsten Berner.
Despite the scandals, the two Catholics advocate remaining true to the faith, the church and the community.
Again, the subject of abuse in the Catholic Church is taken up.
And this time it's about the role of Munich Cardinal Reinhard Marx, his predecessor Friedrich Cardinal Wetter and his predecessor Joseph Ratzinger.
The Pope emeritus was Archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1977 to 1982.
It should be clarified whether the archbishops and their employees covered up sexualized violence between 1945 and 2019 and let the perpetrators go. Wolfgang Lanzinger is certain that this report will have an impact. The chairman of the parish council referred to Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki and the number of people leaving the church in Cologne, which had reached a historic high in the past few months. "The exit platform collapsed," says Berner. Also with regard to further conflicts, Lanzinger says: "We don't need to sugarcoat anything, the church is in crisis, and I'm actually always surprised that more Catholics don't leave."
Lanzinger tells of the abuse scandal that shook Christians in Dorfen in 1995.
In January, what rumors had been saying for a long time came out: the then Protestant pastor had sexually abused several confirmands.
It was devastating for the congregation because no one wanted to believe that a modern day minister, a married, dedicated minister, would abuse children.
And yet it was so.
Lanzinger nevertheless advocates not turning one's back on the church, whether Catholic or Protestant.
In the past ten years, a lot has already been worked through, says the deputy headmaster of the Dorfen high school.
Berner, who has been chairman of the parish council of St. Georg in Oberdorfen for twelve years, is often reproached: "In which association are you actually involved?
Children are abused, money is stolen, and women have no say,” he says.
Of course, many things are no longer up to date: "But we don't deal with celibacy every day." It's all about communion, the community.
For Lanzinger, too, the religious community is the central point of Christianity.
Here people would act: "And people make mistakes." He refers to the pillars of the church: the proclamation of the Word of God, the community of believers and diaconia, the care for weaker members of the community.
"We have to get involved locally, because this is exactly where we can make a difference - that's what drives me."
MICHAEL HESKE
