A year after a widespread sex scandal rocked Roman
Catholics in Pope Benedict XVI's homeland, German intellectuals and
faithful alike are turning their backs on the church, calling for change
or simply leaving the congregation.
German
theologians and others have aired their discontent in a series of
petitions to church leaders calling for changes including more
transparency, an end to celibacy, and women's ordination.
"After
their initial horror, many responsible Christians, women and men, in
ministry and outside of ministry, have come to realize that
deep-reaching reforms are necessary," wrote leading German theologians
in a petition to the nation's highest Catholic officials.
Germany
has long been a cradle of religious thought and agitation for reform,
stemming from Martin Luther in the 1500s up to today's outspoken
Swiss-born Vatican critic, Hans Kung.
The pope himself, before moving to
Rome, taught theology at German universities.
The
Vatican has not responded to the petitions, but the German Bishops
Conference sought to address the issue in March by announcing a series
of platforms for dialogue "aimed at giving our church in Germany a
theological profile and sense of cohesion in this new century."
Many
would welcome a signal from the pope that he supports such discussion,
but there are no exchanges with parishioners or lay people scheduled
during his Sept. 22-25 visit to Berlin and eastern Germany.
Gerhard Kruip, a theology professor at Mainz University who
helped write the petition from the theologians does not expect that to
happen.
"The bishops will not want to confront the pope with the problems facing Germany's church," Kruip said.
There
are nearly 25 million Catholics in Germany, but numbers gathered by The
Associated Press indicate a spike in people leaving the congregation
last year as allegations of sexual and physical abuse of hundreds of
children by clergy surfaced.
"These
major abuse cases need to be taken into account by church leaders,"
said Rev. Max Stetter, a priest in the Augsburg diocese who formed a
group calling for change.
While
tens of thousands of Germans formally "quit" the church every year,
2010 saw a jump in the number of walkouts. German authorities easily
track the numbers, because members pay a church tax, unless they
formally leave the congregation.
Official
numbers from the seven archbishoprics and 20 dioceses have not yet been
released, but data acquired by AP show an increase ranging from 19
percent in Magdeburg, to more than 60 percent in diocese of Passau and
Wuerzburg in the pope's homeland.
Augsburg,
also in Bavaria, was among those hardest hit. Some 12,065 Catholics
resigning their membership last year, compared with 7,000 in 2009, the
diocese said. Fearing such a bleeding of the faithful, Stetter joined
hundreds of other priests and lay people to appeal to their bishop to
change.
"There
is the impression that a page has been turned and things are going on,
without anyone looking into the cause of the scandals and finding new
structures to avoid such things," Stetter said.
Austria,
which also taxes church members in a way similar to those in Germany
also saw a significant drop in the number of departures. Figures
published by the Austrian Bishop's Conference said 87,000 Austrian
Catholics left in 2010 - a 64 percent increase over the 53,000 who
formally had their names struck from church registries in 2009.
The
Catholic church in the pope's homeland forms the backbone of everyday
life, and despite the discontent, the decision to leave does not come
easily to its members.
Margit
Becker, who lives on the outskirts of Augsburg with her husband and two
children, is one of thousands of German Catholics who feels
disconnected from and disillusioned by the church. She stopped attending
services months ago, but has not yet brought herself to formally
resign.
"We
were really born into the church and socialized in the church," Becker
said of herself and her husband. "Our parents would have a heart attack
if we were to leave the church. It is unthinkable."
Becker,
in her early 50s, said her generation followed the modernizing reforms
of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s - in which the pope, then
Joseph Ratzinger, took part.
The council changed everything from the
role of lay people to the direction priests face while celebrating Mass
and inspired a young generation with hope for a more open church.
Yet
Benedict has revived some traditions and prayers that had been largely
abandoned since Vatican II, disappointing many in his homeland.
"The
church is no longer speaks to the people. I don't feel that it speaks
to me, I don't feel comfortable with these traditions that date back
centuries," said an administrator who works in the Augsburg dioceses,
but refused to give his name for fear that he would be fired for
criticizing the church.
Nevertheless,
theologian Kruip believes the call for dialogue from the Bishops
Conference shows that the discontent is being heard, and taken
seriously.
He concedes that change will take time, but will come.
"We wouldn't have done this if we were not convinced that we had a real chance," Kruip said.