Schönstatt

February 5, 2021 By Magdalena Rosario Lira

In the Clutches of the Holy Office

In order to evaluate the events that eventually led to Father Joseph Kentenich's exile, it is important to take a closer look at the position and functioning of the "Holy Office."

29. December 2020.
Press Office Schoenstatt International

As the supreme guardian of the faith of the Catholic Church, the institution had an exceptional position in the tradition of the “Holy Inquisition” as well as outstanding, even unrestricted rights to judge and, if necessary, condemn life and faith processes in the Church.

The institution of the Holy Office

The Position of the Holy Office

The “Holy Office” was the most important of all the Congregations and had a primary authority. It did not have to explain itself or justify its actions to anyone. Its instructions were to be followed absolutely. Thus, procedures remained non-transparent and incomprehensible to outsiders. For those accused before the Holy Office, there was no protection against possible injustice. The good of the church as a whole took precedence over the good of the individual. In this regard, the congregation alone could determine what did and did not serve the common good of the Church in each case. The term “holy” in the name of the authority already signaled inviolability.

In concrete terms, this meant that anyone who was accused before the Holy Office generally had no possibility of taking a stand or defending himself. Disagreeable theologians had their teaching faculties revoked. “Being under the Holy Office” was tantamount to ecclesiastical ostracism. To this end, everything was usually done in great secrecy.

The Causa Kentenich at the Holy Office

The Causa Kentenich was in the hands of the “Holy Office” in the 1950s. Father Kentenich, however, was apparently not very familiar with the workings of this institution. At a lecture in Münster in 1966 he confessed: “Actually I was a novice in all the methods that were common in Rome. I had always thought they were as eager to ascertain the truth as I personally had always been.”

Therefore, the fact that Father Kentenich contradicted the ecclesiastical authority in his request, had to have corresponding consequences. But he was not the only one to suffer the full harshness of the proceedings. When Father Adalbert Turowski, General of the Pallottine Fathers until 1953, wanted to do defend Father Kentenich at the “Holy Office,” it had harsh consequences for him. He expressed that no one should be condemned without a defense. At the following General Chapter of the Pallottines, at which his re-election as Superior General was pending, the “Holy Office” intervened and in a letter declared Turowski as a persona non grata and thus ineligible.

In the aforementioned 1966 lecture, Father quoted Cardinal Lavitrano, the Prefect of the Congregation for Religious and a friend of the Schoenstatt Movement, to illustrate the approach of the authorities: “If I had known how the law is dealt with in Rome, I would never have accepted the post as Prefect of the Congregation for Religious.” And further in that talk, Father confessed, “[I] knew – I had experienced this on my world travels – how even the highest ecclesiastical authorities trembled when the Holy Office spoke.”

The theologian Hans Küng, himself condemned, describes the “system” of the “Holy Office” thus: “Only in the case of more well-known victims does one hear something in public. Certainly, no one is physically burned today, but are psychologically and professionally destroyed, wherever necessary for the ‘good of the church’. … No less serious than the public condemnation of the few, which is resorted to only in the case of great public resonance, is the secret harassment of the innumerable, who are called to ‘order’ through a bishop or religious superior, and under certain circumstances are unceremoniously silenced deposed, transferred, placed under special censorship, or banned from publication and speech. On such occasions, the official letter of the Sanctum Officium (or of another Roman Congregation) is usually not handed to the accused by his own superior, but at best is read aloud, so that the person being reprimanded has as little evidence in his hands as possible.”

The Reform of the Holy Office

It was not until the Second Vatican Council that the supremacy of the Holy Office was publicly denounced. In the Council Hall on November 8, 1963, Cardinal Josef Frings of Cologne, in front of more than 2,000 bishops and to the applause of the Council participants, broke the wall of silence by publicly denouncing the Holy Office headed by Cardinal Ottaviani. It had done serious damage to the Church and offered “a nuisance to non-Catholics.” Frings said, among other things: The Office – the successor to the medieval Inquisition – accuses and condemns orthodox scholars without lending them or their bishops a hearing. Theological books are banned without the author being told why. The cardinal demanded that no one should be condemned in the future without he and his bishop being heard. Furthermore, no one should be subjected to a sanction without having had the opportunity to make amends for his errors.

Pope Paul VI initiated the required reform toward the end of the Council. On December 7, 1965, in the motu proprio Integrae servandae, he reordered the tasks and structure of the congregation.

Contributions to a More Comprehensive Picture in the Causa Kentenich

In cooperation with various persons from the Schoenstatt Movement, topics are being researched on behalf of the General Presidium of the International Schoenstatt Work which concern Father Joseph Kentenich, the founder of the Movement, and which are currently examined. This is done on the basis of the respective current state of knowledge available in the accessible documents and writings. The results of the research and conversations can be read in articles related to each topic.

Press Office Schoenstatt International

The Media Commission is responsible for articles signed by the Schoenstatt International Press Office.

It is composed of Sr. M. Cacilda Becker and Fr. Heinrich Walter, International Coordination of the Schoenstatt Movement; Sr. Dr. M. Lisianne Braunbeck, General Council of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary; Heinrich Brehm, Schoenstatt Press Office, Germany; Michael Defrancesco, Schoenstatt Family Federation; Fr. Ludwig Güthlein, Director of the German Schoenstatt Movement; Dr. Gertrud Pollak, General Superior of the Institute of Our Lady of Schoenstatt and Sr. M. Veronika Riechel, Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary. The texts come from different groups of authors: from the Media Commission, Prof. Dr. Hubertus Brantzen, Fr. Heinrich Hug, Prof. Dr. Joachim Söder, Sr. Dr. M. Nurit Stosiek, or from research carried out by other private persons.

February 5, 2021 By Magdalena Rosario Lira

Candlemas – more relevant today than ever!

The celebration of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple and its importance for Schoenstatt

On February 2, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple worldwide. Formerly it was called the Candlemas. What is the importance of this feast for Schoenstatt?

Claudia Brehm
2. February 2021

In the Temple, the presentation and prophecy of Simeon

Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the Temple, to consecrate their first born to God, as was the custom at that time. Simeon and Anna, two very old people, who had spent all their life in prayer in the Temple, recognized Jesus as the Son of God and as the Messiah and they praised God for his gift to all people. Simeon prophesied to Mary that her son was destined for the rising and fall of many and that a sword would pierce her own heart, too.

How could Mary continue with her life after such a prophecy? The previous reference to the feast day as Candlemas indicates that she looks towards Jesus, the Light; that she lives from day to day – not in constant fear of what tomorrow may bring, when the sword strikes her. She gratefully contemplates what she has, sees and experiences today. She anchors her life in the heart of God, unperturbed by the storms around her. She has experienced: I am sheltered.

What does this teach us in terms of dealing with the pandemic?

In the concentration camp

Change of scene: Koblenz, 1942. Father Kentenich was imprisoned in September 1941, first for four weeks in a tiny, dark and airless bunker. After that he was moved to a prison. The way he radiated his total lack of anxiety and being sheltered by God impressed his fellow prisoners, as well as the prison guards. Since everything seemed to indicate that he would be transferred to a concentration camp, the Schoenstatt family tried to avoid it. They nearly succeeded. To have a chance of not going to the camp, all he had to do was sign to be examined a second time by a doctor who would declare him unfit for the concentration camp due to his long-standing lung condition.

After a long struggle, on the morning of January 20, 1942 he felt, when he secretly celebrated Holy Mass, that he should not undertake anything of his own accord. “Our priests need to take the Inscription seriously … then I will be free again“, he wrote to Father Menningen. In the weeks that followed, he wavered between hoping to be set free and preparing himself for going to the concentration camp. On February 2, the feast of Candlemas, he sensed that he would be released due to all the sacrifices and prayers made by the Schoenstatt family.

Hence, on this feast day, he composed the Hymn of Thanksgiving, that begins with „The chains have fallen!”. In stanza six it says:

“so that new men and women arise
who are, like Christ,
both free and firm on earth,
in joy and in sorrow,
interweaving with him alone
the striving of their hearts…“

(Heavenwards 617,618)

Understanding the message

Although he was not set free, on the same day, a decision was made by the Gestapo, the State Secret Police, to send him to the Dachau concentration camp, rather than Mauthausen. This entire process is called in Schoenstatt the Candlemas vision. Since the end of the 1940s the concept of the Candlemas vision includes the intention for Schoenstatt’s spirituality to be understood by the members of the Movement, as well as the bishops and the Church.

And today?

Thanks to this sign, the feast day of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, or Candlemas, becomes significant. Will all the questions regarding the father and founder of the family eventually lead to a better and deeper understanding of Schoenstatt’s spirituality by its members, and thereby become fruitful not only in their own lives but also in the lives of their fellow human beings? Will this facilitate for the bishops and the Church a better insight into Schoenstatt’s spirituality and thereby find new ways of pastoral care? It’s up to us to make this a reality! Mary’s attitude in Temple, as well as Father Kentenich’s total surrender in prison to the will of God, gives us many practical hints for our own personal Candlemas vision!

February 5, 2021 By Sr. M. Cacilda Becker

The graces of the Home Shrine transforming families in Australia

As one of the great gifts of the Schoenstatt spirituality, five families invite the Blessed Mother to dwell in their homes

Bernard Toutounji
February 5th, 2021

Amidst pandemic restrictions, our Sydney family group, made up of five families, was – thanks be to God – finally able to consecrate our Home Shrines on 1 January 2021. We had been working toward consecrating the Home Shrines in early 2020 but, like so many things, Coronavirus put it on hold. In preparing for the consecrations, we made use of the book My Home, A Shrine which was written in 1986 by Sr Thomasine. We were additionally helped by Sr. Mary Agnes and Sr. Elizabeth along the way.

The initial plan was that all our families would pilgrimage to one another’s houses for the blessings, but the tighter restrictions changed that. We were thankful to still begin the day together with Mass at Mt. Schoenstatt with most of the sisters in attendance. Following that, Fr. Paul and Sr. Elizabeth travelled home-to-home to bless and witness the consecrations and the rest of us attended it virtually via Zoom. As part of the preparation each family named their Home Shrine and adopted symbols as tangible signs for each member of the family.

The Home Shrine preparation experience has been powerful, and it has gifted to us one of the great gifts of the Schoenstatt spirituality. The consecration of the Home Shrines is a lasting gift for the whole family which invites the Mother Thrice Admirable to take up her throne in a way just as tangible as the invitation of the founding generation inviting Mary to dwell in the original Shrine. This is just one of the gifts of our movement and we are grateful to God that we have finally been able to add our homes to the list of Home Shrines in Australia. If you are reading this and never consecrated your Home Shrine, we encourage you to prepare.

February 4, 2021 By Sr. M. Cacilda Becker

How Did the Episcopal and Apostolic Visitation in Schoenstatt Come About?

A visitation (Latin: visit) is a normal process in the Catholic Church. It does not always have to be about points of contention. For example, every bishop visits the parishes of his diocese at regular intervals. Every five years, the bishops of a country meet with the pope in Rome for what are known as ad limina visits.

PressOffice Schoenstatt International
February 4th, 20121

How Did the Episcopal and Apostolic Visitation in Schoenstatt Come About?

A visitation (Latin: visit) is a normal process in the Catholic Church. It does not always have to be about points of contention. For example, every bishop visits the parishes of his diocese at regular intervals. Every five years, the bishops of a country meet with the pope in Rome for what are known as ad limina visits.

In addition, special visitations may be requested from or instituted by a bishop or the pope when points of contention have arisen in a diocese, religious order, community, or ecclesiastical institution. Such a visitation is intended to prepare an objective and at the same time pastoral decision. The entire history of the Church, up to the present day, has been permeated by visitations in various forms, in which questions concerning the Church’s doctrine, her way of life, discipline and concerning unity in the Church are examined and decided.

These visitations have been carried out at different times, in the respective structures that were common at the time. If the leadership of the Church was structured in a rather autocratic and authoritarian way, visitations were carried out accordingly. Thus, it is clear that visitations of earlier times, such as the one in Schoenstatt 70 years ago, were carried out much differently than is the case today. Therefore, it is not only meaningful, but also necessary to view and evaluate such a visitation in its context.

New Things Move the Church Forward

In light of a church led by the Holy Spirit, crises and points of contention should not be seen as accidents of church history, but rather as opportunities and possibilities invitations for the church to develop further and not simply continue to think and live along traditional lines. In retrospect, the church can be grateful for all those who were initially perceived as uncomfortable critics or troublemakers, and who then decisively moved the church forward overcoming her sore spots.

Some Historical References

Father Kentenich was very aware of the importance, but also of the risks of visitations. However, he did not want a community that would continue to follow traditional predefined paths, but one that would help build a “Church on the new shore of time.” Thus, the visitations did not come out of the blue for the Schoenstatt Movement, but the study of the newness of Schoenstatt was consciously desired by the founder. He wanted the Church’s hierarchy to study his foundation, to examine it and to it, also legally. He saw such a process as necessary so that a fruitful work in and for the Church would be and remain possible.

Prehistory of The Visitations in Schoenstatt

Already in the years 1934/35 there was a major controversy in the ecclesial public about the so-called “peculiar ideas” of Schoenstatt. After the Bishop of Limburg, Antonius Hilfrich, had expressed serious reservations about Schoenstatt, Bishop Bornewasser of Trier commissioned Ignaz Backes, a professor of dogmatics, to prepare a dogmatic report on Schoenstatt’s doctrine and spirituality. The report criticized the basic relationship of God to man represented in Schoenstatt. The General Government of the Pallottine Fathers then sent the General Councilor, Father Peter Resch (1873-1966), with the task of persuading Father Kentenich, by virtue of obedience, to renounce these ideas.

During the Second World War there was criticism from the Archbishop of Freiburg, Conrad Gröber. After the Second World War, even greater criticism was ignited by the publication of the Dachau Prayers “Heavenwards”. In 1948, the dogmatic historian Auxiliary Bishop Artur Landgraf of Bamberg submitted a negative opinion on Heavenwards to the German Bishops’ Conference. In the fall of the same year, the Bishops’ Conference drew up a list of demands that the movement should fulfill, which, however, was initially withheld by the Trier diocese.

For A Better Understanding of The Prehistory of The First, Diocesan Visitation

The first diocesan visitation

On February 14, 1949, the Vicar General of Trier informed Father Kentenich’s representative, Father Friedrich Mühlbeyer (1889-1959), that Auxiliary Bishop Dr. Bernhard Stein would come to Schoenstatt on behalf of the bishop for a canonical visitation. Beforehand, Trier had decided at the last moment not to appoint a study commission, but to hold an ecclesial visitation. Behind this was the assumption that especially the Sisters of Mary could only in this way be prompted to be completely open in their statements. In his introductory address, Auxiliary Bishop Stein attached particular importance to this point. The visitation took place from February 19-28, 1949.

The Second Apostolic Visitation

On April 18 and November 6, 1950, Auxiliary Bishop Stein sent two memoranda to the Congregation for Religious in Rome. In November 1950, he requested an Apostolic Visitation of the Schoenstatt Work and especially of the Sisters of Mary. It was primarily to investigate the attachment of the Sisters of Mary to Father Kentenich and his ecclesial disposition, as well as the circumstances under which the first Superior General of the Sisters of Mary, Sister Anna Pries, had resigned from her office in February 1950.

Subsequently, the Holy Office intervened and appointed Father Sebastian Tromp SJ, a well-known Roman theologian of dogmatics and fundamental theology and consultor of the Holy Office, as Visitator. He was Dutch and spoke sufficient German.

The Apostolic Visitation began in Holy Week 1951 and was authoritatively concluded by Pius XII on August 03, 1953.

The Visitator first stayed in Schoenstatt for a week for a closer visitation of the Sisters. He then summoned Father Kentenich, who was again in South America, to Rome at the beginning of May and presented him with the choice of voluntarily resigning from his offices – otherwise he would have to expect deposition and exile from which he would not return. He would be a “persona non grata” with the German bishops. Fr. Kentenich conferred with Fr. General Adalbert Turowski (General Superior of the Pallottines) and Fr. Alexander Menningen and took the stand: “Voluntarily never, in obedience immediately.” Through Father Turowski he had the answer transmitted to Father Tromp.

In decrees issued at the end of July 1951, Father Kentenich was removed as General Director of the Sisters of Mary and his separation from the Work was decreed. These decrees were made known to the Sisters in Schoenstatt on August 15, 1951. Father Kentenich received permission to still hold the large conferences he had announced for the fall (the Pedagogical Conference and the October Week 1951) and then went to Switzerland.

Support for Father Kentenich by Father Turowski

Literature

More details on Father Kentenich’s conflicts with the Church: Schmiedl, Joachim, Der Konflikt um Pater Kentenich – Versuch eines Durchblicks, in: Regnum 55 (2020), issue 4.

https://schoenstatt.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/SCHMIEDL-JOACHIM-Der-Konflikt-um-Pater-Kentenich-Versuch-eines-Durchblicks.pdf

On the course of the visitations: On the History of the Pallottine Fathers and the Schoenstatt Movement, in: Regnum 45 (2011), issue 2. This is an interim report of the Historical Commission of the Pallottine Fathers and the Schoenstatt Fathers. http://www.regnum-im-netz.de/download/hefte/REGNUM-45-2011-2.pdf

Contributions to a More Comprehensive Picture in the Causa Kentenich

Press Office Schoenstatt International

The Media Commission is responsible for articles signed by the Schoenstatt International Press Office.

It is composed of Sr. M. Cacilda Becker and Fr. Heinrich Walter, International Coordination of the Schoenstatt Movement;

Sr. Dr. M. Lisianne Braunbeck, General Council of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary; Heinrich Brehm, Schoenstatt Press Office, Germany; Michael Defrancesco, Schoenstatt Family Federation; Fr. Ludwig Güthlein, Director of the German Schoenstatt Movement;

Dr. Gertrud Pollak, General Superior of the Institute of Our Lady of Schoenstatt and

Sr. M. Veronika Riechel, Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary;

The texts come from different groups of authors: from the Media Commission, Prof. Dr. Hubertus Brantzen, Fr. Heinrich Hug, Prof. Dr. Joachim Söder, Sr. Dr. M. Nurit Stosiek, or from research carried out by other private persons.

February 1, 2021 By Sr. M. Cacilda Becker

Covenant Culture in COVID times

The great pandemic of the new coronavirus has made 2020 a historic year. It has been a year of numerous challenges that potentially attacked the macrocosms – the exterior world, the common environment – and the microcosms – the interior world, the individual.

Gabriel Afonso Dutra Kreling
1. February, 2021

I sealed my Covenant of Love in the Shrine of Londrina, in the state of Paraná, Brazil. My parents are part of a Schoenstatt couples group. My wife, Carina, and I live in Cascavel, Paraná, where I work as a doctor. This year, I have had the greatest professional challenge of my life: being a coordinator of the Covid-19 wing of the biggest public hospital of west Paraná, the University Hospital of Cascavel.

Fear, insecurity, despair, longing, anguish, uncertainty, and loneliness were some of the feelings I experienced. I was afraid of dying, of getting sick, afraid of bringing the sickness to the persons I love, afraid of not being able to save all the people that depend on my care and that of my team. They called us superheroes, but I never had the superpower of being immune to all these feelings; I am only someone who is able to care for persons who have been called to work.

The sodalist heroes gave me strength

To move forward, I could count on the unconditional support of my wife and my family, but without a doubt, the Covenant of Love played a fundamental role in it all. What comes to mind is the image of the founding generation, who at the beginning of their youth were called to war, giving a confident yes to their Mother, prepared for the future or not. I am sure that they also had fears, but the real presence of Mary made them continue. They did not have superpowers, but today they are considered our “Schoenstatt heroes.” This real presence of our Mater was one of the great motivations that sustained me all of these days.

Pray with trust

Many times, I did not have the depth needed for prayer. My thoughts were directed toward the patients, to my team, to the structural problems. I tried, but I could not. It was beyond my human capacity. The solution that I found was to stop before leaving for work, face the image of Mary and tell her: “I’m sorry, I can’t pray. Take care of everything. Cover me with your protecting mantle. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto thine.” This was my daily prayer, the only way that I had of concentrating enough to pray for few moments. I would like to thank Fr. Vitor Possetti who was a great friend in leading my spiritual life.

Another way of feeling protected was to ask people to pray for me. I asked my parents and grandparents, my in-laws, my wife, my siblings. In the daily calls to my family, it was not strange to hear: “We are praying for you.” My response always was: “Thank you very much. I depend on you. Please keep praying.” That’s how I could, especially in my most fragile moments, feel the presence and care of Mary and of God, most merciful.

It is the will of God, be still

There are many situations that I could recount, but I would like to share one in particular. During Lent, I was on night watch in the intensive care unit (ICU), of a city hospital. There were no more beds for Covid-19 patients in this hospital and we had to use the beds of other patients. That same night, the ICU of the University Hospital was overcrowded and there was political pressure to have more beds, but we could not obtain from day to night. We did not have personnel or teams. At this moment, I went to the break room and cried. I sat on the bed and did not know what to do. The weight was heavy; the responsibility, enormous. I took deep breaths, turned off the light, put on my headphones, and listened to the song “Na Tua Misericórdia” (In Your Mercy). I stopped for four and a half minutes and let go of everything. I opened my eyes and the phrase of Father Kentenich came to me: “It is the will of God, be still.” I washed my face and returned to the floor. The next day, I found the motivation and sense to continue, trying to do everything as best as I could. I repeated this phrase many times breathing deeply to find strength to continue.

The mission led by Mary

With this great challenge, I could feel the Covenant of Love in a concrete way. In my spiritual smallness, I could live the “Nothing without you, nothing without us.” I offered my suffering, my work, my abilities and weaknesses, daily trying to do the ordinary extraordinarily well, with fear, sometimes like a child, looking at my Mother and being sure that she would do her part. Moreover, my personal ideal has never been so present in my thoughts. The daily experience of something so close to my personal ideal made me feel the fullness of something that I had not experienced so clearly: to live my personal ideal in the midst of suffering, in the midst of challenges. This made me encounter the meaning of my existence, of my life.

The example of the path of the Schoenstatt Movement and of our Mother, Queen and Victress, who has been present in the Shrine through the capital of grace, and who tied bonds that strengthened in the midst of two great wars, helped me to understand this period of my life as a calling, as a request of God. And like Mary, I had no other option but to give my “yes.” In the moments of suffering, I could imagine Mary at the foot of the cross: present, strong, mother and daughter at the same time, silent, contemplating the love and will of God for the life of her beloved Son.

I wrote this in past tense, but the pandemic continues. Let us take care of ourselves and of others. Social responsibility is an imperative of the current time. Let us educate ourselves for it. May Mary intercede for all the families who have lost their loved ones, for the souls of those who have passed, and for all those who in one way or another have suffered, suffer, or will suffer due to the pandemic.

Translation: Wayne Wang