AUSTRIA
National Catholic Reporter
Christine Schenk | Oct. 17, 2013
VIEWPOINT
BREGENZ, AUSTRIA I spent Oct. 10-12 here for the first international meeting of leaders of reformist priest organizations from six countries. The event provided rich opportunities for international networking, exploration of common problems and sharing of creative strategies for addressing an array of critical renewal issues facing the church. That included the international priest shortage, defending the integrity of parishes, the need for genuine dialogue, lay empowerment, strategies to address abuses of authority, and women’s leadership in the church.
Convened by the charismatic Fr. Helmut Schüller of the Austrian Priests’ Initiative and Deacon Markus Heil, spokesman for Parish Initiative: Switzerland, the high-energy, professionally facilitated gathering drew about 30 people. Among them were leaders of lay movements and priest associations from the United States, Germany, Ireland, Australia, Switzerland and Austria.
I attended as a representative of the 10 U.S. reform organizations that sponsored Schüller’s highly successful 15-city “Catholic Tipping Point” tour over the summer. This coalition has committed itself to developing an international network of priests and people working for fundamental rights in the church. Martha Heizer of the International Movement We Are Church; Deborah Rose-Milavec, executive director of FutureChurch; and Hans Peter Hurka of the We Are Church movement in Austria brought important perspectives from lay reform movements at the international, national and local levels.
An important underlying commonality for participants was the shared struggle of ministering in the midst of a steadily worsening priest shortage.
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