!!!Christlichsoziale Bewegung
Christian Socialist Movement: At the beginning of the 19%%sup th/%
century first signs of the Christian Socialist movement emerged in
Austria, especially in Vienna, with the Romantic "Vienna circle"
around Clemens Maria Hofbauer. In 1848, the year of the Revolution,
S. Brunner (with his "Wiener Kirchenzeitung", Vienna church magazine,
forerunner of the Catholic press), A. Guenther, J. E. Veith,
C. von Hock, W. Gaertner and J. M. Haeusle established a
Christian Democrat "Catholic Association", which was governed by
laymen. Even though, after the suppression of the Revolution and due
to the Concordat of 1855, these young forces had again to give way to
the Catholic conservatism of the nobility and church, they finally
became the protagonists of the Christian Socialist movement.
\\
In 1852 the Viennese Cardinal A. Gruscha set up journeymen´s
societies along the lines of the German Kolping associations.
Kosegarten planned workers' representations and health insurance
systems for Catholic workers. In 1887 L. Psenner and A. Latschka
founded the Christian Social Association; shortly before that, the
United Christians´ partnership of convenience had emerged, in
which F. Piffl, F. Stauracz, Ae. Schoepfer, A. Opitz along with K.
Lueger and Prince A. Liechtenstein advocated the ideas of a Christian
social reform. Baron K. von Vogelsang, spiritual father of the
movement, gave it its ideological principles. Among the supporters of
his ideas were R. Mayer, Count R. Belcredi, A. Gessmann, Prince
A. von Liechtenstein and K. Lueger, who came from the "Austrian
Reformatory Association" (Oesterreichischer Reformverein) founded by
A. Schneider and Zerboni. Several social laws from the 1880s were the
result of the activities of these men (e.g. protection of workers
laws, industrial inspectorates). Vogelsang and Liechtenstein became
the founders and spiritual leaders of the "Free Association of
Catholic Social Politicians", one of the centres of Christian social
reform.
\\
The movement was further consolidated by the "General Austrian
Catholic Rally" in Vienna (1889) and the social encyclical "Rerum
novarum" ("Of New Things",1891) issued by Pope Leo XIII. In the
confederate association of manual workers Father H. Abel fought for
better co-operation between masters and journeymen. During these years
the individual groups of the Christian Socialist movement, the "United
Christians", the "Democrats", the "Industrial Reformers", the
"Christian Socialists", the "Catholic Conservatives", gradually came
closer to each other. The last decade of the 19%%sup th/% century was
decisive for the political success of the Christian Socialist
movement. 1892 L. Kunschak founded the Christian Social Labour
Association, one year later the various groups were merged in the
Christian Social Party led by Lueger. In 1894, on the initiative of
F. M. Schindler, the first course in social politics was held in
the Leo Society in Vienna. Like the party´s legendary
"Entenabende" (duck evenings), these courses became the intellectual
centres of the new Christian Socialist movement, the further
development of which, however, was more and more intimately related
with party politics, in which the conservative clergy along with the
bourgeoisie, the farmers and entrepreneurs increasingly gained
control. As a consequence Anton Orel, whose "Austrian Association of
Working Young People" (founded 1905; from 1901 "Association of Young
Austrian Christians") represented a Christian anti-capitalist youth
movement in the spirit of K. von Vogelsang, had to resign from
the party together with his followers; moreover, L. Kunschak had
already created a counter-organisation, the "Imperial Federation of
Young Christian Workers.
\\
After World War I, A. Orel´s new "Vienna movement" aimed at a
radical reduction of bourgeois influence on church and political life,
as was characteristic of the beginning of the Christian Socialist
movement. Further important protagonists of the Vienna movement were
E. K. Winter, K. Lugmayer, J. Eberle and also O. Spann. The
Vienna movement brought together diverse schools of thought which, in
1925, eventually led to the manifesto "Doctrines and Orders of the
Church concerning contemporary social issues", prepared by S. Waitz
and Johannes Messner and completed by the Vienna Catholic Social
Assembly in 1929. Between 1934-1938 the corporate state deepened the
gap between the "bourgeoisie" and the Christian Social workers.
\\
After 1945 the basis of the Christian Socialist movement was the
social pastoral letter of 1957, issued by the Austrian bishops. From
1954 the Institute for Social Politics and Social Reform organized
"Vienna Social Weeks". Today´s centre of the Christian Socialist
movement is the Catholic Social Academy, which works out concepts for
campaigns and organises events.
!Literature
Das christlich-soziale Programm. Mit Erlaeuterungen von R.
Schmitz, 1932; A. Fuchs, Geistige Stroemungen in Oesterreich
1867-1918, 1919; L. Kunschak, 45 Jahre Christlich-sozialer
Arbeiterverein, 1937; G. Schmitz, Die Entwicklungsgeschichte der
christlich-sozialen Volksbewegung in Oberoesterreich (1875-91),
doctoral thesis, Vienna 1938; H. Mueller, Sozialpolitik und
christlich-soziale Bewegung, doctoral thesis, Vienna 1947; F. Funder,
Vom Gestern ins Heute, 1952; Aufbruch zur christlichen Sozialreform,
1953; W. Bredendieck, Christliche Sozialreformer des 19. Jahrhunderts,
1953; A. Diamant, Die oesterreichischen Katholiken und die
1. Republik, 1960; E. Weinzierl, Die Katholische Kirche, in: E.
Weinzierl and K. Skalnik, Die 2. Republik, vol. 2, 1972;
J. W. Boyer, Political radicalism in late imperial Vienna, 1981;
E. Weinzierl, Kirche seit 1980, in: E. Froeschl, 15 Jahre, die
Oesterreich veraendert haben, 1986; E. Weinzierl, Pruefstand.
Oesterreichische Katholiken und der Nationalsozialismus, 1988.
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