wfn.org | Catholic monks in Austria join hands with Presbyterians

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Note #6157 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

22-August-2000
00294

Catholic monks in Austria join hands with Presbyterians

Redemptorists and PC(USA) visitors find that they are more alike than not

by Evan Silverstein

EGGENBURG, Austria -- Saint John Capistrano, the great medieval preacher
best known to North Americans as the patron saint of a fabled mission in
southern California, spent five days in Eggenburg, a wooded hillside village
in northern Austria, in late 1451.
	Inspired by his presence, residents organized a Roman Catholic monastery
whose first mission was to meet the spiritual needs of the people of
Eggenburg. The priests and brothers of the monastery have done just that --
for more than five centuries.
	Today, the "great house" of the monastery is inhabited by four priests and
one lay brother. The members of the community range in age from their late
20s to their late 80s. They begin each day with prayer, followed by a
breakfast of bread and coffee. Then they go to their respective jobs.
	The Redemptorist order, an all-male group dedicated to pastoral work and
ministries of compassion, is helping foster a better understanding of the
similarities between North American Presbyterians and Central European
Catholics.
	"I hope the friendship we have with the monastic community at Eggenburg and
other communities like it will lay a foundation for a deeper relationship
between the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Roman Catholic Church,"
said the Rev. Duncan Hanson, the PC(USA)'s coordinator for Europe, who
recently visited the monastery during a tour of Presbyterian and Reformed
programs in central and southern Europe.
	Presbyterians are no strangers to the monks of Eggenburg, whose hometown is
about an hour's drive from Vienna, the Austrian capital. Former General
Assembly Moderator Freda Gardner met with a member of the community in
November; General Assembly Council Executive Director John Detterick did the
same in March.
	The monastery is also on the itineraries of many PC(USA)-sponsored
travel-study groups. And Hanson said his office may send a volunteer to work
with the Redemptorists in youth ministry.
	The frequent visits and steady dialogue have made clear that the Roman
Catholic Church and the Presbyterian Church are "suffering through" many of
the same "themes" in matters of justice, peace and interpersonal
relationships, said Father Hans Huetter, the Redemptorist priest who usually
addresses Presbyterian groups when they visit.
	"Even though this is an order of people who have taken vows of poverty,
chastity and obedience to live together for all of their lives, generation
after generation, the Presbyterian Church is a very different kind of
experience," Huetter said. "As we've talked together we've found that the
same issues keep coming forward and are the same for both churches."
	On a typical day, members of the order partake in a simple common lunch --
often a meat roast and potatoes -- prepared by a woman from the neighborhood
who is paid a small stipend to cover her labor and the cost of groceries.
Then they do their after-lunch praying and return to their jobs. Since at
least three members of the community are usually gone in the evening, the
remaining two normally have leftovers for dinner.
	Each monk lives in a simple, unadorned "cell" furnished with a desk, a
wardrobe and a bed, and warmed by a radiator that clanks loudly in the
window. Except when they  celebrate Mass or perform other sacramental
duties, they wear normal civilian clothes. Community life is democratic.
Decisions are made by consensus. Leadership roles are rotated among the four
members who are not retired.
	The Redemptorist order has eight monasteries in Austria; most have fewer
than 10 members.
	The monks of Eggenburg, like their Redemptorist compatriots elsewhere, have
committed themselves to preaching the Gospel and working with the poor.
Father Josef Schachinger, a former mechanic, reaches out to the many 15- to
18- year-olds in the area who have dropped out of school and are out of a
job.
	"We realized that the unemployment of the young people is very high,"
Schachinger said, "so we wanted to start a project for the education of
getting a job."
	Making use of spare rooms at the monastery and modest financial support
from the local government, Schachinger has opened a woodworking and
metalworking shop for young males and females. There are no religious
qualifications for enrollment, but the young people are forming
relationships with Schachinger, and through him with the Roman Catholic
Church, that one imagines will last a lifetime.
	"I feel good inside about what we've accomplished," Schachinger said. "I
think we have a lot of good focus. I think we have some young people who
would be out on the street if they didn't have the possibility to stay here
and get an education."
	Huetter, 50, who recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of his
ordination, conducts "bibliodrama" workshops in which participants explore
selected Bible passages. He also writes insightful commentaries and
preaching suggestions that are reminiscent of the common lectionary and are
published on the World Wide Web.
	"For me, what is important is the Gospel of Jesus Christ," Huetter said.
"The proclamation is always getting new ways of being acted out in life. It
does one good to see how others, such as the Presbyterian Church, who seek
to live by the same Gospel, have found other forms for that life."

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