!!!katholische Kirche
Catholic Church: a legally recognised Christian Church in Austria. The
provisions of the Concordat of 1933/34, which determines the legal
relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the State, were
amended and added to after 1946. According to the law on the Church
Ratea major part of the expenses of the Catholic church is met from
church tax revenues. The Catholic Church has two Church Provinces
(Archdioceses): Vienna and Salzburg with a total of 9 Dioceses and a
military ordinariate. The dioceses are headed by bishops who are
members of the Conference of Bishops , a permanent institution in
charge of pastoral tasks. The abbot of the Cistercian abbey Mehrerau
in Vorarlberg also holds the rank of a bishop ("Abtei
nullius"). The dioceses are subdivided into 230 deaneries and
according to statistics from 1998, there are 3,048 parishes including
the military ordinariate, 49 quasi -parishes and 759 other Catholic
institutions of pastoral care. The number of Austrian Catholics is
currently 5,921,064. The secular clergy has 2,926 priests and there
are 1,821 priests who are members of religious orders ( Monasteries
and orders). 375 deacons work permanently in pastoral care. The number
of lay people in the employ of the church is currently growing (mostly
teachers of religion and pastoral assistants). About 10,000 teachers
of religion are working in Austrian schools. The Catholic Church not
only owns private schools but also homes, colleges and kindergartens.
Courses provided by the Catholic Adult Education Institutions have
found broad public acclaim. Students preparing for the priesthood and
lay theologians attend the Faculties of Theology of the Universities
of Vienna, Graz, Innsbruck and Salzburg, the Theological Colleges at
Linz, St. Poelten and St. Gabriel/Moedling and the Cistercian
Order´s University at Heiligenkreuz and Klosterneuburg; students
who want to become teachers of religion study at the pedagogical
academies of the dioceses (Vienna, Graz, Innsbruck, Salzburg,
Klagenfurt, Linz) or at the universities.During Nazi rule all Catholic
organisations and associations were dissolved. After 1945 the work of
the lay apostolate became more and more important. Lay organisations
assume their tasks mainly in the form of the Austrian Catholic
Actionwhich was re-established in 1945 and which is characterized by
many "Works" and Catholic associations, which in turn form the
Arbeitsgemeinschaft Katholischer Verbaende in 1954. Independent
charismatic movements and newly established groups within the church
devoted to religious and apostolic tasks have recently gained
considerable ground: Action 365, Cursillo Movement, Legio Mariae,
Christian Life Communities, Charismatische Gemeindeerneuerung,
Katholischer Familienverband, Marianist Congregations and the Rosary
Atonement Crusade for Peace. In 1970 the Austrian Laienrat (Lay
Council) was founded; it comprises all organisations of the Austrian
Catholic Action, all associations of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft
Katholischer Verbaende and all other Catholic associations as well as
representatives of the dioceses and individuals. Important
institutions and centres of the Catholic Church are the Catholic
Academy and the Catholic Social Academy in Vienna, correspondence
courses in theology (Vienna and Linz), the Institute of Social
Research on Church Matters, the Institute for International
Cooperation, the Austrian Service for Development Cooperation, the
ecumenical endowment Pro Oriente and the Katholische Bildungswerke.
\\
Like other Catholic institutions, the Catholic Press had to be
completely reorganised after 1945. Side by side with diocesan and
parish journals, there are a number of newspapers: e.g. "Die Furche",
"Praesent", as well as Catholic magazines and periodicals (published
by Styria Medien AG, Tyrolia Verlagsanstalt GmbH, Carinthia,
Salzburger Pressvereinsbetriebe, Niederoesterreichisches Pressehaus,
Bregenzer Zeitungs- und Verlagsgesellschaft, which are members of the
Austrian association of Catholic publishers of newspapers and
magazines).
\\
''History:'' The Christianisation of Austria took place gradually.
After Christianity, Early in Roman times the °Christianisation
of the Bavarians took place at the end of the 7%%sup th/% and the
beginning of the 8%%sup th/% century under Frankish influence, as
well as by Irish and Scottish monks and Anglo-Saxon missionaries. The
church organisation established by Bonifatius also had an influence
on the Church in Austria (dioceses Salzburg, Passau); under Frankish
rule in the 9%%sup th/% century churches were strengthened and the
Alpine Slavs were integrated. From the 10%%sup th/% century local
church organisation was established and parishes were formed in castle
districts and later, in connection with larger settlements. The
founding of monasteries, which began in the 11%%sup th/% century, was
an important step in the history of the Church in Austria. In the
Middle Ages the Church not only took over intellectual and spiritual
leadership but also greatly influenced the development of cultural
life, architecture (churches and monasteries), painting, literature
and music and was responsible for economic progress, education and
social care (schools and hospitals).
\\
The growing importance of Lutheranism ( Reformation) in the
16%%sup th/% century led to a severe crisis in the Catholic Church in
Austria. A reform movement was introduced around 1550 to meet this new
threat, forming the basis for what was called the Counter-Reformation
and which was initiated by the Habsburgs from 1580. By the
mid-17%%sup th/% century (in Salzburg only during the 18%%sup th/%
century), the Counter-Reformation had resulted in Austria being
reconverted to Catholicism and an increase in Catholic activity and
institutions ( pilgrimages, building of churches, monuments and other
large buildings). Reaction under the influence of the Age of
Enlightenment set in under Maria Theresia and in particular under her
son Joseph II; by 1790, the number of monasteries was reduced to
one half while the parish system was strengthened and new dioceses
established. At the end of the 18%%sup th/% century the tendency
favouring establishment of the Catholic Church as a state Church met
with the opposition of the Catholic renewal movement in Vienna
(C. M. Hofbauer). On the other hand many liberal intellectuals
had developed a critical attitude towards the Catholic church, which
was intensified by the Concordat of 1855. When liberalism and Marxism
developed in the second half of the 19%%sup th/% century, times became
particularly difficult for the Catholic Church, which reacted by
establishing counter-movements (political Catholicism, (Christian
Social Doctrine) which in turn led to the foundation of the Christian
Social Party and at the same time strengthened church life (Catholic
organisations). By the turn of the century the Catholic Church in
Austria increasingly paid attention to social matters and began to
focus on cultural and intellectual questions. The First Republic
witnessed the great struggles of Roman Catholicism with the Austrian
Social Democrats as many Social Democrats left the Catholic Church (
Sozialdemokratische Partei Oesterreichs) and with rejection by the
supporters of National Socialism. In 1938 the Nazis greatly
restricted the influence and power of the Catholic Church. The
Catholic Church´s activities were more or less reduced to the
celebration of services and it was no longer allowed to play a role in
education, culture and social care. After the end of World War II
in1945 the Catholic Church witnessed a strong but rather short
revival; currently it is confronted with many problems and the general
secularisation of life. In the 1990s the clergy, members of religious
orders and committed laypeople in different Catholic groups
strengthened their efforts towards a gradual modernization of the
church. They initiated a Church Referendum (exemplary for similar
efforts in Germany and the United States) which led to the
"Dialogue for Austria" (Dialog fuer Oesterreich) but has not
resulted in any definite changes so far.
!Literature
J. Wodka, Kirche in Oesterreich, 1959; F. Klostermann et
al., Kirche in Oesterreich 1918-65, 1966; F. Loidl, Geschichte des
Erzbistums Wien, 1983; F. Schragel, Geschichte der Dioezese
St. Poelten, 1985; J. Gelmi, Kirchengeschichte Tirols, 1986; H.
Paarhammer (ed.), Kirchliches Finanzwesen in Oesterreich, 1989; H.
Schwendenwein, Oesterreichisches Staatskirchenrecht, 1992; Die
katholische Kirche in Oesterreich, almanac 1992; K. Amon and M.
Liebmann, Kirchengeschichte der Steiermark, 1993; J. Lenzenweger et
al. (eds.), Geschichte der katholischen Kirche, %%sup 3/%1995; M.
Liebmann et al. (eds.), Staat und Kirche in der "Ostmark", 1998.
%%language
[Back to the Austrian Version|AEIOU/katholische_Kirche|class='wikipage austrian']
%%
[{FreezeArticle author='AEIOU' template='Lexikon_1995_englisch'}]
[{ALLOW view All}][{ALLOW comment All}][{ALLOW edit FreezeAdmin}]