Catholic Scouts of Europe
Encyclopedia
The Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas (KPE; roughly Catholic Guides and Scouts of Europe) is a German
Catholic Scouting
organization with 2,500 members. It is part of the Union Internationale des Guides et Scouts d’Europe (UIGSE). Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas - Österreich (KPE-Ö) is an Austria
n sister organization which works closely with its German counterpart.
The KPE is closely linked with the order
Servi Jesu et Mariae
(SJM), which runs a boarding school
in Lippetal
, North Rhine-Westphalia
.
There is some controversy surrounding the KPE, both within the German Catholic Church and also in the German Scouting movement, centered upon the KPE's focus on proselytization, its connections to Catholic fundamentalist networks, and its tendency toward isolation from other groups. The KPE is considered by some to be a fundamentalist
group.
Observers describe the KPE as loyal to the Pope
, conservative, and traditional in its Scouting activities and in its spirituality. Great emphasis is placed on the regular confession
(see Catechism of the Catholic Church
, Sections 1423-1442) and the regular attendance of Mass
(see Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 1389) which is celebrated in some groups according to Tridentine Rite
.
because they felt that their ideas about Scouting and spirituality had been disregarded in the reforms of the 1960s and 1970s. Andreas Hönisch
, late Superior General of the SJM, and Günther Walter were both instrumental in the KPE's founding.
In 1977, the Fédération du Scoutisme Européen (FSE), predecessor of the Union Internationale des Guides et Scouts d’Europe, admitted the KPE as full member.
Some local groups left the KPE in 1986 because of its rigid structure and founded a new Scouting organization, the Europapfadfinder Sankt Michael.
The Diocese of Augsburg recognized the KPE as a Catholic youth organization in 1992. The KPE's umbrella organization, UIGSE, was recognized by the European Parliament
in 1984, and as lay organization
by the Holy See
in 2003.
In 1994, the Südwestfunk broadcasted the movie "Himmel und Hölle" (Heaven and Hell), that was based on incidents within the KPE. Its authenticity is questionable, a court decision forbade mentioning possible connections between the movie and the KPE in public. Despite this decision the KPE was heavily attacked by the press after each broadcast of the movie.
In 2003 the organization's paper "Pfadfinder Mariens" promoted a book of the far right
politician Rolf Kosiek published by the extreme right Hohenrain-Verlag. Further on, Thomas Niggl OSB, member of the Work of the Holy Angels, advocated theses of the extreme right Deutsche Studiengemeinschaft.
After press reports on the KPE membership of one superior of the seminary in St. Pölten during the St. Pölten pornography scandal the Conference of the German Bishops
reiterated that the KPE is not recognized by the Bund der deutschen katholischen Jugend, the union of recognised Catholic youth organizations in Germany. The statement was interpreted by a German TV magazine as an official disassociation.
Later in the same year some groups and most of the leaders of the Austrian sister organization KPE-Ö left the organization and accused the German KPE and Andreas Höhnisch of interfering in its internal affairs. In response the supporters of German KPE stated that these groups were influenced by masonic
ideas. The secessors formed the Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder Europas - Österreich.
Critics accuse the KPE of forcing its members to participate in religious exercises, especially in attending mass and regular confession. In some cases younger Scouts and Guides had been horrified by drastic descriptions of Hell
. Pro-life
manifestations organized by the KPE and procession
s against blasphemic
movies support this view of massive religious influence in its members' lives.
The cooperation of the SJM with conservative Catholic groups as the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
, the Aktion Leben
and Una Voce
is used as evidence when accusing the KPE of Catholic traditionalism. Until 1992, the adherence to the Work of the Holy Angels was officially advocated by the KPE. Today, still some members of the KPE hold contacts to the Work of the Holy Angels and the Society of St. Pius X
. In 2007, there is at least one German Scout group connected to the Society of St. Pius X with very close contacts to the KPE.
The isolation of the KPE's members from other, possibly interfering, groups is mainly criticized by German Scouts. Until 2000, groups of the KPE participated in and even organized joint events. Since then, the KPE retreated nearly totally from the German Scout movement; only a few groups hold contacts to similar oriented organizations like the Evangelische Pfadfinderschaft Europas or the Europapfadfinder Sankt Michael.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Catholic Scouting
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
organization with 2,500 members. It is part of the Union Internationale des Guides et Scouts d’Europe (UIGSE). Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas - Österreich (KPE-Ö) is an Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n sister organization which works closely with its German counterpart.
The KPE is closely linked with the order
Religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
Servi Jesu et Mariae
Servi Jesu et Mariae
The Servants of Jesus and Mary are a Roman Catholic Congregation for priests, which was founded in 1988 by Father Andreas Hönisch, a former Jesuit, expelled by the order due to his traditional views of Catholic doctrine and pedagogy.The first members were Scouts and Guides of the Katholische...
(SJM), which runs a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
in Lippetal
Lippetal
Lippetal is a municipality in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Geography :Lippetal is located north and south of the river Lippe between the cities of Lippstadt and Hamm . Lippetal is situated at the northern boundary of the Soester Börde, south of the river Lippe and...
, North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
.
There is some controversy surrounding the KPE, both within the German Catholic Church and also in the German Scouting movement, centered upon the KPE's focus on proselytization, its connections to Catholic fundamentalist networks, and its tendency toward isolation from other groups. The KPE is considered by some to be a fundamentalist
Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism is strict adherence to specific theological doctrines usually understood as a reaction against Modernist theology. The term "fundamentalism" was originally coined by its supporters to describe a specific package of theological beliefs that developed into a movement within the...
group.
Aims
The KPE describes its aims as follows:- Our Goal: Responsible Christian personalities
- Man wants to give sense to his unique life! Not an unsure, mediocre, false sense but a true one filling him and letting him outstrip himself.
- Man finds this sense in Jesus Christ. In response, man joyfully takes on the burden of service to God and his fellow man.
Observers describe the KPE as loyal to the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
, conservative, and traditional in its Scouting activities and in its spirituality. Great emphasis is placed on the regular confession
Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)
In the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is the method by which individual men and women may be freed from sins committed after receiving the sacrament of Baptism...
(see Catechism of the Catholic Church
Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the official text of the teachings of the Catholic Church. A provisional, "reference text" was issued by Pope John Paul II on October 11, 1992 — "the thirtieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council" — with his apostolic...
, Sections 1423-1442) and the regular attendance of Mass
Eucharist (Catholic Church)
"At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood."...
(see Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 1389) which is celebrated in some groups according to Tridentine Rite
Tridentine Mass
The Tridentine Mass is the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. It was the most widely celebrated Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in December 1969...
.
History
The KPE was founded on February 15, 1976. Its founding members had left the Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt GeorgDeutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg
The Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg is the largest of Germany's many Scouting organizations. The Catholic association has about 95,000 members of both genders...
because they felt that their ideas about Scouting and spirituality had been disregarded in the reforms of the 1960s and 1970s. Andreas Hönisch
Andreas Hönisch
Father Andreas Hönisch SJM was the founder and Superior General of Servi Jesu et Mariae, and co-founder of the Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas....
, late Superior General of the SJM, and Günther Walter were both instrumental in the KPE's founding.
In 1977, the Fédération du Scoutisme Européen (FSE), predecessor of the Union Internationale des Guides et Scouts d’Europe, admitted the KPE as full member.
Some local groups left the KPE in 1986 because of its rigid structure and founded a new Scouting organization, the Europapfadfinder Sankt Michael.
The Diocese of Augsburg recognized the KPE as a Catholic youth organization in 1992. The KPE's umbrella organization, UIGSE, was recognized by the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
in 1984, and as lay organization
Roman Catholic lay ecclesial movement
Lay ecclesial movements are one form of associations of the faithful of the Catholic Church.Associations of the faithful are groups of baptized Catholics, clerics or laity or both together, who jointly foster a more perfect life or promote public worship or Christian teaching, or who devote...
by the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
in 2003.
In 1994, the Südwestfunk broadcasted the movie "Himmel und Hölle" (Heaven and Hell), that was based on incidents within the KPE. Its authenticity is questionable, a court decision forbade mentioning possible connections between the movie and the KPE in public. Despite this decision the KPE was heavily attacked by the press after each broadcast of the movie.
In 2003 the organization's paper "Pfadfinder Mariens" promoted a book of the far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
politician Rolf Kosiek published by the extreme right Hohenrain-Verlag. Further on, Thomas Niggl OSB, member of the Work of the Holy Angels, advocated theses of the extreme right Deutsche Studiengemeinschaft.
After press reports on the KPE membership of one superior of the seminary in St. Pölten during the St. Pölten pornography scandal the Conference of the German Bishops
Conference of the German Bishops
The German Bishops' Conference is the episcopal conference of the bishops of the Roman Catholic dioceses in Germany. Members include diocesan bishops, coadjutors, auxiliary bishops, and diocesan administrators....
reiterated that the KPE is not recognized by the Bund der deutschen katholischen Jugend, the union of recognised Catholic youth organizations in Germany. The statement was interpreted by a German TV magazine as an official disassociation.
Later in the same year some groups and most of the leaders of the Austrian sister organization KPE-Ö left the organization and accused the German KPE and Andreas Höhnisch of interfering in its internal affairs. In response the supporters of German KPE stated that these groups were influenced by masonic
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
ideas. The secessors formed the Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder Europas - Österreich.
Controversy
Critics of the KPE focus mainly on three points, namely:- proselytization
- cooperation with Catholic fundamentalist groups
- isolation of members from the outside world
Critics accuse the KPE of forcing its members to participate in religious exercises, especially in attending mass and regular confession. In some cases younger Scouts and Guides had been horrified by drastic descriptions of Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
. Pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
manifestations organized by the KPE and procession
Procession
A procession is an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner.-Procession elements:...
s against blasphemic
Blasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
movies support this view of massive religious influence in its members' lives.
The cooperation of the SJM with conservative Catholic groups as the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is a traditionalist Catholic Society of Apostolic Life of priests and seminarians in good standing with the Holy See.-Canonical status:...
, the Aktion Leben
Aktion Leben
Aktion Leben is an pro-life organisation in Austria that offers counselling and aid for pregnant women. They also educate teenagers and adults through illustrations and pictures in hopes of getting them to make pro-life decisions. For younger children they produce games....
and Una Voce
Una Voce
Una Voce is an international federation of Catholic lay organizations attached to the Tridentine Mass....
is used as evidence when accusing the KPE of Catholic traditionalism. Until 1992, the adherence to the Work of the Holy Angels was officially advocated by the KPE. Today, still some members of the KPE hold contacts to the Work of the Holy Angels and the Society of St. Pius X
Society of St. Pius X
The Society of Saint Pius X is an international Traditionalist Catholic organisation, founded in 1970 by the French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre...
. In 2007, there is at least one German Scout group connected to the Society of St. Pius X with very close contacts to the KPE.
The isolation of the KPE's members from other, possibly interfering, groups is mainly criticized by German Scouts. Until 2000, groups of the KPE participated in and even organized joint events. Since then, the KPE retreated nearly totally from the German Scout movement; only a few groups hold contacts to similar oriented organizations like the Evangelische Pfadfinderschaft Europas or the Europapfadfinder Sankt Michael.
Literature
- Andreas Hönisch: Liebe Freunde von Pfadfinder Mariens. Volume 1. SJM-Verlag, Meckenheim 2001. ISBN 3-932426-20-7
- Bundesvorstand der Deutschen Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg: Arbeitspapier mit Dokumenten zum Phänomen der „Katholischen Pfadfinderschaft Europas“ (KPE) sowie zu neueren Entwicklungen im Spektrum katholischer Splittergruppen. Georgs-Verlag, Neuss 1994
- Hans Gasper: Priesterbruderschaft St. Petrus, Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas (KPE), Servi Jesu et Mariae (SJM). Impulse für die pastorale Arbeit Nr. 19, Wien 1995
External links
- http://www.kpe.de KPE (Germany) - Official Website
- http://www.kpe.at.tt KPE-O (Austria) - Official Website
- Sekteninfo Bayern – critics of the KPE
- Netzwerk gegen Sekten – critics of KPE and SJM