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Candidates for the Catholic Church: Parish Council Election in Difficult Times

2022-01-26T07:27:52.380Z


In the midst of the abuse scandal, preparing for the next parish council elections on March 20 is difficult.


In the midst of the abuse scandal, preparing for the next parish council elections on March 20 is difficult.

County

– Sexual abuse cases in the diocese have not been adequately addressed for decades.

The former Archbishops Friedrich Wetter and Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, have been accused of specific and personal misconduct in several cases, as has the current Archbishop, Cardinal Reinhard Marx.

And at this very time, Catholics are fishing for new parish councils.

On March 20, all dioceses will vote on who will be involved in the Catholic parishes in an advisory, coordinating and decision-making capacity over the next four years.

A number of municipalities in the district are looking for new candidates - not an easy task in the current situation.

There are currently 40,000 Catholic Christians in the district of Erding, and every Catholic over the age of 14 is entitled to vote.

Any community member over the age of 16 can run for office.

The proposed person must be Catholic and belong to the parish concerned.

Deadline for submissions is February 6th.

Whoever is suggested will be contacted and asked if he or she is interested.

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Wolfgang Lanzinger

© Michaele Heske

"Be a Christian.

Think far.

Act courageously”: This is the motto of the Bavarian parish council election.

The parish councils are concerned with having a say in the church.

They support the priests, according to Jörg Basten, Chairman of the Erding Deanery Council.

Basten, who is also chairman of the parish council in Wartenberg, explains: "The parish council is an important democratic body in which lay people bring in wishes and ideas and thus help shape community life."

The range of tasks of the parish council is large, says Petra Sigrist, managing director for the north region in the archdiocese of Munich-Freising.

The tasks depend, of course, on whether a parish is rural or urban.

“Not every community is the same.

For example, if there is an old people's home, then the work for the elderly is very present." But it doesn't matter whether it's children's services, youth work or ecumenism - you can get involved in all areas: "That's the charisma of working for your own church tower, and doing it with passion and passion.”

In many parishes, community life has been on the back burner since the Corona pandemic, others have had a generational change.

According to Sigrist, new PGR applicants are being sought in a number of municipalities in the district.

For example in St. Johannes in Erding.

Other parishes are already printing the election posters, such as in the parish of St. Emmeram in Moosinning.

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Jorg Basten

© Archive

Wolfgang Lanzinger has headed the committee in the parish of Maria Dorfen for twelve years.

"I'm connected to the Catholic Church, as a Christian it's my job to get active," explains the deputy head of the Dorfen high school.

“We are team players – together with the pastor and the administration.

Every member of the parish council brings their talents to the table,” he says of the Dorfen parish council.

For Lanzinger it is clear: "A wave of resignations will now come to the church.

Because it is unspeakable what has been done to cover it up over the years.” Nevertheless, the religious community is the central point of Christianity.

"We have to get involved locally, because this is exactly where we can make a difference - that's what drives me."

This year, online elections for the parish council are possible for the first time, in addition to voting by post and voting in the church or in the parish hall.

Lanzinger hopes that the turnout will be higher than four years ago.

"The more eligible voters vote, the more binding the electoral mandate is."

MICHAELE HESKE

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-01-26

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