Turning Point
The Tasks and Opportunities of Church Structural Reforms
The churches are not finished but stuck at a turning point: They are called upon to undergo profound and painful reforms. In this process, they are not betraying their tradition but seeking an appropriate church form for remembering the Gospel entrusted to them within the changing cultures. This dramatic development is the subject of a study that focuses on the Catholic Church’s structural reforms and evaluates them. The main result is sobering yet simultaneously looks forward far beyond the Catholic realm in ecumenical terms. The issue is whether those responsible will succeed in turning a comfortable “priestly church” – which caters to its members like a service organisation – into a church form in which the baptism bestows an equality of dignity and calling on all of its members: in other words, a “church of the baptismal calling.” This is not a service organisation, but it provides good services. In addition to presenting the survey results in simple language, this book also suggests challenges that the churches must master on this path in the coming years
