Part of the working group protection concept: (standing from left) Rosi Merkhoffer, Dean Simon Rapp, Simon Gabler, Bettina Gabler, Jürgen Scherer, Quirin Englberger, Maria Rebekka Stöhr-Andresen, Petra Buchinger, Uli Spindler, (seated from left) Hubert Vögele, Stephanie Fahs, Theresia Holzer, Monika Walter, Tobias Holzer and Sieglinde Zerling. (Click on the blue icon for the full view) © PG
The parish community of Ammersee-Ost starts with a questionnaire campaign to prevent abuse. A working group was also formed.
Herrsching – In all parish communities of the Deanery of Starnberg, processes are currently underway to make the communities a safe place for all people, especially for those in need of protection. Dean Simon Rapp, Senior Pastor of the Ammersee-Ost parish community, has therefore also staffed a 20-member working group from all parts of the parish community in Herrsching and started a questionnaire campaign
"It's not just about preventing cases of abuse against children and adolescents," says Petra Buchinger, who heads the working group. "We want to learn to be more mindful of people and their needs." Today, every daycare center needs a protection concept, "we now want to expand this for the entire parish community," says Pastor Simon Rapp.
Between 5 and 26 June, questionnaires will be distributed to adults, adolescents and children in the parish community of Ammersee-Ost, which includes Herrsching, Breitbrunn, Widdersberg and Inning, the responses of which are intended to help the working group to specifically identify places and manners that need to be designed more attentively and subsequently to develop concrete work steps, to increase protection and a sense of security. The questionnaires for adults are also available in the parish churches and can be filled out and dropped off in boxes or mailboxes of the parish office. This questionnaire is also available digitally. All you need to do is send an e-mail to pg.ammersee-ost@bistum-augsburg.de.
The working group consists of representatives of the parishes and the different groups, men, women, seniors, youth leaders, senior altar boys, representatives for choirs and families, full-time professionals and volunteers. "This mix and the different perspectives make the work exciting and fruitful," says Petra Buchinger. "They reflect the diversity of a Catholic parish, open each other up to different needs and help us to identify what is going well and to look at blind spots." The working group is looking forward to active participation in order to develop and increase the culture of mindfulness in the local church.
