New Auxiliary Bishop Johannes Freitag: fresh wind for Styria!

New Auxiliary Bishop Johannes Freitag: fresh wind for Styria!

Steiermark, Österreich - Johannes Freitag was appointed the new auxiliary bishop of Styria and will take up his office on May 1st. After a decade without an auxiliary bishop, he plays an important role at the age of 52. Friday is open to the challenges that his new position brings and is optimistic because he feels worn by the prayer of many people. Preparations for the celebration of the consecration are in the hands of competent people, and Friday has already started to get used to the salutation "Mr. Aweihbischof" or "Bishop Johannes", which he prefers the more formal name "Excellence".

The issues that are important to him are the discussion about full pews on Palm Sunday, the conflict for the Pöllauberger "rioter" and the role of women in the church. In addition, he employs the marriage of priests, a topic that is often controversial in the Catholic Church. These questions not only reflect internal issues of the church, but also the social challenges with which it sees herself confronted.

The role of the Church in Society

The Catholic Church looks back on a long history of dealing with social and political issues. This usability is of great importance for understanding the present and coping with the future. The tradition of the church shows that it has been busy with social issues since its beginnings, not only with the "workers' question" of the 19th century. Historical contexts, such as industrialization, have led the church to increasingly deal with the uprooting of broad parts of the population and the associated social issues. This topic is becoming more important, this is also evident in the explanations about the social responsibility of the church.

Church social history includes essential issues such as poverty, wealth, peace, war and the relationship between church and state. The encyclical "Rerum Novarum" from 1891 focused on the need for state social policy and the social responsibility of private property. This leads us to the realization that the Catholic social teaching is not to be understood as a static system, but is constantly evolving over time.

Current challenges and social responsibility

The challenges that the church faces today are complex. It has to deal with the moral dimension of technical progress as well as the ongoing unemployment and the new social issues that result from these developments. The Catholic Church not only has the task of publicly announcing the gospel, but also actively participating in the human -friendly design of society and commenting on social and political questions.

The church respects the autonomy of the social areas and sees itself as a partner in social discourse. Close cooperation with experts is necessary in order to be able to effectively tackle the complex social problems. The values and principles of Catholic social teaching are the benchmark with which the church perceives its responsibility towards society.

With the appointment of Johannes Freitag as auxiliary bishop, Styria shows that it is ready to tackle the social and political challenges of today. Friday will have to take a fresh look at these topics, while at the same time keeping the tradition and values of the Catholic Church.