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PDF versionMarienplatz no longer about the Virgin Mary
Mar. 21, 2010
Marienplatz
Munich, Germany
Marienplatz is a square at the heart of Munich. Day and night it is packed, mostly with the young who come to hang out, to see and to be seen. There is also a lot of political theater going on in the square, speeches and leafleting. Amnesty International is recruiting new members. The Munich police maintain a presence.
This is a square of contrasts, modern life in a face-lifted Middle Age setting. Today Marienplatz is dotted by high fashion boutique and clothing shops, coffee parlors and underground Bavarian restaurants. All underground transportation passes through this plaza.
Centuries back the square was renamed after the Virgin Mary (its original name was Schrannen) in an effort to protect Munich from a cholera epidemic. A statue of Mary holding the child Jesus continues to rest atop a pillar at the center of the square. A plaque there commemorates a visit by Pope John Paul II early in his pontificate. On Saturday evening, under light rain, a couple dozen people, mostly elderly, said the rosary for more than a half hour before a makeshift photograph of Pope Benedict, their former archbishop. But the general sense here is more secular than religious. 
Munich Cathedral towers overlooking Marienplatz
The twin towers of the Munich cathedral are visible in the distance, but they are hardly imposing. There is one church, the oldest in Munich, St. Peter’s, on the plaza. Curiously, it features the traditional Catholic rite. A priest, distant at the head of the nave, said mass with his back to the congregation. So much for showcasing Vatican II in Munich. It seems as if the archbishop here wants to send out other signals, as if pulling backward, not moving forward, is the answer to church woes.
Munich is a wealthy city. The women here dress fashionably, high skirts, tight leggings and tall boots. The men seem trim as well. The city is clean; the people appear purposeful. On the surface, at least, people appear comfortable, and the role religion plays in their lives seems questionable.
News of the church sex scandal is ubiquitous. It is shocking and yet old news. If something new has emerged it is the undeniable knowledge that the Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal is global. Every nation with a free press and independent court system is reporting the phenomenon. This made Pope Benedict’s remarks to the Irish church seem to some, while sincere, too little and too late. It is as if the Vatican, trying as it might, cannot keep up with the fast moving story. Talk about a church that changes slowly over centuries no longer seems to be working in its leaders' favor.
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“Sad about the sex abuse crisis?” I asked one woman leaving a local church. “No, angry!” she snapped back. She kept walking and did not elaborate. But anger might not be the predominant mood here.
It is difficult for any outsider to gauge the mood of people in a foreign country. And generalizations are dangerous. Nevertheless, after a few days here I sense the attitude toward the Catholic church is more one of indifference than anger. Reasons to disregard the faith, if anything, are being confirmed by the scandal. If clergy abuse is shaping attitudes, it is simply giving more people more reason to disregard the church or walk away. After all, there is a lot of life in Marienplaza, lots of energy and movement, lots of things to do, and that world appears much apart from the church that once shaped the plaza.
Wise prelates ought to know that once anger subsides and moves to indifference any apologies or promises for reform will fall on deaf ears.
The people are not
The people are not indifferent now? The church has already lost six generations of people, if you go by the seven years between each release of 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' to get each generation of kids, and they've done a great job of losing, eight, nine, and ten.
It is hard to gauge the mood
It is hard to gauge the mood of people in a foreign country, and generalizations are difficult, as Mr. Fox has so eloquently pointed out in this article. However, to get an idea of how the Papal letter to Ireland was received by the Irish, I muight suggest the readers read the commentaries on the Papal letter as recorded by The Irish Times online, www.irishtimes.com, or any other online Irish newspaper.
Usually when a country
Usually when a country experiences prosperity, chances are it also experiences spiritual decline. The sex abuse crisis is a direct result of this same spiritual decline.
The sex abuse crisis is a
The sex abuse crisis is a direct result of papal and hierarchial arrogance , power mongering and indifference of Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI to the safety of Catholic children and other victims of priestsébishops predations.
The apiritual decline of the POPES and BISHOPS and PRIESTS who Obstructed justice, who Covered up scandals, who Protected the guilty PriestséBishops CRIMINALS who Victimized thousands of children, youths, seminarians, adults.
Do not blame the laity for the SINS of the Pope and Clergy. The laity did not pick out children to molest in this scandal. The Clergy victimized us.
We lived in Munich for 14
We lived in Munich for 14 years. It was a center of the Nazi movement. The churches were often not filled except for the churches chosen by tourists and those who had excellent musicians and/or orchestras doing Masses on any given Sunday. Recent years were never big on Catholics going to church and those in northern Germany, whether Catholic or Lutheran, served very few. The great days of church building are over and have been for quite some time. The power of the church has waned over the centuries. We found Munich to be clean and exciting and civilized and quite humanistic. Women were generally safe as were the children. Little violent crime among the masses. Politicians were just as guilty of crimes against the people as in any large city in any country anywhere. Personally I never had the feeling that religion was even thought about by groups of people except perhaps the born-again Lutherans who spent much time and money trying to make things better for the mentally and physically challenged child. This I found quite wonderful. Research will often show that humanistic societies have fewer wars than do those with religion strengths. I find that quite interesting.
"said mass with his back to
"said mass with his back to the congregation"
You mean the priest and people faced in the same direction --toward God. I'm glad. Turning back toward God might help us in our current crisis. Clearly we've been facing the wrong way for several decades.
Amen to that, Bernie.
Amen to that, Bernie.
Christopher says.."sex abuse
Christopher says.."sex abuse crisis is a direct result of this same spiritual decline'.[experiencing prosperity]
While I agree that prosperity is not a spiritual enabler, hearing that this is the cause of clerical abuse is tiresome. Laity ... It's the hierachal cover-up. The clerical life with the exception of missionary ministry has always been on top of the prosperity pile. The secret clerical culture was allowed to spiral out of control.. please... no more 'it's the teachers' 'it's the media' 'it's the money grubbing survivors and their lawyers'. a least 'it's the English disease' is over with now with a central Europe abuse eruption.
The only question on the table now is how can the Catholic laity and their extended families keep up their spiritual journey and not depend on a flawed leadership. a crippled leadership will take a generation for reform. is the answer..Small faith communities?
"Small faith communities"
"Small faith communities" hmm, sounds like a plan. Find an agreeable priest, or if you can't find one then take bread and say "this is my body", and wine and say "this is my blood", give thanks to God and distribute so that all can share in the body and blood of Christ. Be a phoenix rising from the ashes. Rome and her cohorts have imploded. Ashes only remain but we are here to start anew.
Solicit some of those priests who left to marry. Perhaps some might want to be part of our renewal.
So very sad when the voice of
So very sad when the voice of the church is considered more corrupt than the voice of the surrounding culture.
People are looking for reasons to believe but when there is no integrity in the Vatican then the church loses.
The attitude is that it is much nicer to go shopping than to go to church to listen to some clergy who defend a cover up and who dress as if it's the 14th century.
The outside cannot destroy the church, its leaders on the inside will.
"Authority resides in a
"Authority resides in a person who by actions as well as words invites trust and confidence. It rests neither on external legitimization nor on power but on trustworthiness, or in Augustine’s words, on truth. Its purpose is to clarify and illuminate, i.e., to aid understanding, and its instrument is argument, not coercion. The first question a Christian intellectual should ask is not "what should be believed" or "what should one think," but "whom should we trust?"
Robert L. Wilken, Professor of the History of Christianity at the University of Virginia, The Christian Intellectual Tradition (article), First Things, June/July 1991.
"What you need is sustained outrage...there's far too much unthinking respect given to authority." Molly Ivins
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