Joint Statements of the Representatives of the Christian Communities on Important Questions in Austria according to the Instructions of Ut unum sint (n. 43)

: In his encyclical Ut unum sint , Pope John Paul II called on the leaders of the Christian churches to draw up joint statements on urgent problems (n. 43). In Austria, the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Austria (ÖRKÖ), which, unlike in Germany, includes the Catholic Church, have complied with this request and wish of the pope by issuing numerous joint statements on various topics. These joint statements are to be widely disseminated until the beginning of the year 2022.

The fact that such joint appeals by Christian churches are possible is ultimately due to recent developments in the field of ecumenism. For example, Pope John Paul II stated in his apostolic exhortation Ut unum sint of 25 May 1995: "It happens more and more often that the leaders of Christian Communities join together in taking a stand in the name of Christ on important problems concerning man's calling and on freedom, justice, peace, and the future of the world. In this way they 'communicate' in one of the tasks which constitutes the mission of Christians: that of reminding society of God's will in a realistic manner, warning the authorities and their fellow-citizens against taking steps which would lead to the trampling of human rights. It is clear, as experience shows, that in some circumstances the united voice of Christians has more impact than any one isolated voice" (n. 43). 2 Pope John Paul II noted with joy that "the vast network of ecumenical cooperation is widening" (n. 43). At the same time, the Pope recalled that "through the influence of the World Council of Churches" "great work" is being done in this field (n. 43). The Christian churches and religious communities had had a long way to go before joint declarations were made at very different levels. 3 In the following sections, we will take a brief look at the ÖRKÖ. Then, individual statements and papers of the ÖRKÖ in Austria will be addressed.

Ecumenical Union of Christian Churches
An ecumenical movement had already developed at the beginning of the 20th century and gained strength on the eve of the Second Vati-can Council. 4 On the Protestant side, at the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference in 1910, for the first time "the confessional fragmentation of mission was felt to be a nuisance and recognised as contrary to the mission of Jesus." 5 On 23 August 1948, the World Council of Churches, based in Geneva, Switzerland. was founded in Amsterdam as a worldwide association. Its members include most of the major churches of the Protestant tradition (Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist, Baptist, etc.), the Anglican Churches, the Old Catholic Churches and most of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member of the Council, but cooperates with it. 6 Ten years later, the Old Catholic Church of Austria, the Evangelical Church A.B., the Evangelical Church H.B. and the Methodist Church founded the ÖRKÖ in Austria. Over the years, the Orthodox Churches that were represented in Austria and on 1 December 1994 also the Roman Catholic Church, which had held observer status since 1970, were added as full members at the request of the Austrian Bishops' Conference. 7 At present, sixteen Christian churches and religious communities belong to the ÖRKÖ. In contrast to similar organisations in other countries, the ÖRKÖ is distinguished by the fact that the Roman Catholic Church is also represented as a full member. Ultimately, the Roman Catholic Church's accession to the ÖRKÖ was possible due to the "Directory for the Implementation of the Principles and Norms on Ecumenism," 8 drawn up by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and approved by Pope John Paul II on 25 March 1993. 4

Declarations and Statements of the ÖRKOS
ince its foundation, the ÖRKÖ has taken a stand on various social, political and societal issues and has made statements, especially through its chairpersons.

Jews and Armenian Genocide
In the Declaratio de ecclesiae habitudine ad religiones non-christianas "Nostra aetate", the Second Vatican Council attached great importance to the dialogue with Judaism. 9 During the November pogroms of the night of 9 to 10 November 1938, almost all synagogues in Austria were destroyed and numerous Jews were killed. Although Jews only make up a very small minority in today's Austria, 10 anti-Semitic attitudes are very widespread among the population. 11 The fight against anti-Semitism is a central concern of the Austrian Federal Government. 12 In the declaration "Niemals vergessen!" for the Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January 2022, the Executive Board of the ÖRKÖ called up for "opposing inhuman ideologies with all our strength." 13 In November 2009, the 9 Cf. Paul VI: Declaratio de ecclesiae habitudine ad religiones non-christianas "Nostra aetate" [28.10.1965]. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 58 (1966), pp. 740-744; also at: https://www .vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_ nostra-aetate_ge.html [accessed 1.04.2022]. 10 Cf. Statista, Religionszugehörigkeit in Österreich 2020, https://de.statista .com/statistik/daten/studie/304874/umfrage/mitglieder-in-religionsgemeinschaften -i n -o e s t e r r e i c h / # :~: t e x t = D i e % 2 0 k a t h o l i s c h e % 2 0 K i r c h e % 2 0 i n % 2 0 Österreich,(700.000%2C%20Stand%202016 ÖRKÖ explicitly commemorated the victims of the November pogroms of 1938. 14 The Armenian Genocide from the years 1915-1917 is considered one of the first systematic genocides of the 20th century. In 2015, the Executive Board of the ÖRKÖ called on the Republic of Austria to recognise the Armenian Genocide. 15 In this sense, all parliamentary groups of the National Council adopted a declaration which "condemned the mass murder of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide." 16 In a declaration of 19 November 2020, the Executive Board of the ÖRKÖ expressed that Christians in Austria share the "pain and grief of the Armenians. ures from March 2020 onwards, including severe restrictions on religious services and the administration of sacraments by the individual churches and religious communities. In the period that followed, the Austrian Government alternated between easing and tightening restrictions. 18 During this time, the Christian churches and religious communities were in close contact. For example, in a statement of 23 December 2021, the ÖRKÖ called for "reconciliation and social cohesion" in view of Christmas. 19 The individual member churches of the ÖRKÖ adopted regulations on "safe" Christmas services, 20 which the then Minister of Culture Susanne Raab expressly welcomed. 21 On 20 May 2020, the Executive Board of the ÖRKÖ expressed its "joy about 'ecumenical hospitality'" in a statement. More specifically, the conditions for the resumption of public worship at that time (including at least 10 sq. metres of space per person present) "distressed" some member churches of the ÖRKÖ who had only small spaces for worship. They were offered the possibility "to hold liturgical celebrations in large worship spaces of other member churches." 22 18

Religious Education
In Austria, denominational religious education in public schools is anchored at the level of the Austrian Federal Constitution in the sense of an institutional guarantee (cf. Article 17 para. 4 StGG). 23 The more detailed legal formulation of religious education is made at the level of a simple law by the Federal Act of 13 July 1949 on religious education in schools (Religionsunterrichtsgesetz) (BGBl. 1949/190), 24 which applies to the religious education of all legally recognised churches and religious communities in schools. Increasingly, denominational religious education has been called into question, whether due to social developments such as pluralisation and secularisation, or due to an increase in the number of deregistered pupils or pupils who do not belong to any denomination and thus do not have to attend religious education classes. In many cases, there were no denominational religious education classes because of the small number of pupils in a class or at a school. 25 In this context, the question of ethics instruction arose. In a declaration on "religious education and ethics education" already adopted at the ÖRKÖ Assembly on 18 October 2012, the member churches of the ÖRKÖ stated "that confessional religious education is indispensable in a pluralistic society." At the same time, they took the view "that in the sense of the current school experiments at the Oberstufe, ethics instructions can only be a 'substitute' for religious education for those pupils who either do not belong to any denomination or have opted out of religious education." 26 In a statement on 10 September 2021, the Executive Board of the ÖRKÖ emphasised the 23 For the legal requirements see: H. Kalb importance of denominational religious education and at the same time welcomed the introduction of ethics as a compulsory subject from the Sekundarstufe II for all those pupils who do not attend denominational religious education from the school year 2021/2022. It wishes for a "good cooperation between the subjects of ethics and religion." 27 In Austria, similarly to the Federal Republic of Germany, cooperation between the legally recognised churches and religious societies in their religious education is increasingly coming into view. 28 In the section on "ecumenical cooperation", the Ecumenical Directory has already mentioned a possible cooperation in religious education, although it does not explicitly consider religious education in the way as it was taught in public schools in the Republic of Austria at the time of the publication of the Directory and is still predominantly taught today. 29  In view of the Church's Creation Tradition (1 September to 4 October), which has been a tradition in the Austrian churches and religious communities since 2008 and goes back to a recommendation of the third European Ecumenical Assembly in Sibiu in 2007, the Executive Board of the ÖRKÖ called for "urgently intensified measures for climate protection" in a statement on 31 August 2021. Politicians were called upon to do this, but also each and every individual. In Austria, too, "decisive action is needed at all levels." 35

Migration and refugees
Migration has become a global challenge. 38 Due to the increased number of people living in deplorable conditions as refugees and asylum seekers in Greece, in a statement on 18 December 2020, the Executive Board of the ÖRKÖ called for the Greek camps to be "evacuated" 39 . In 2016, it said that "it is not acceptable to leave the EU member states in the south, especially Greece and Italy, alone with the burden." A humanitarian solution is only possible "if the principle of solidarity is placed at the centre in Europe." 40 Already in 2001, the Executive Board of the ÖRKÖ had issued a statement on the integration of foreigners, 41 in 2000, on xenophobia, in which it recalled "the continuing validity of the principles already expressed on 8 November 1999," such as equal dignity and equal rights of every human being, comprehensive information and debate, rejection of any discrimination, etc. 42 In 2000, in view of the dramatic events in Afghanistan, the Executive Board of the ÖRKÖ appealed to the Austrian Federal Government "to give protection and refuge to at least some vulnerable people from Afghanistan in Austria." It called for "on-the-spot-assistance in the region and the legal admission of people in Austria in need of protection from terror and death, regulated through the UN High Commissioner for Refu-gees UNHCR" not to be played off against each other. 43 In the resolution adopted by the Assembly of the ÖRKÖ on 9 October 2014 deep concern "about the way the issue of asylum and migration is dealt with by politicians" was expressed. 44

Terror and violence
Terror not only shakes distant countries, but recently increasingly Europe and Austria, too. In its statement of 12 January 2015 on the consequences of the terror in Paris since the attack on the editorial office of Charlie Hebdo, the Executive Board of the ÖRKÖ sees "any attempt to justify acts of blood by invoking an alleged divine commandment" as "monstrous blasphemy." 45 On 22 March 2016, the then chairman of the ÖRKÖ, Superintendent Lothar Pöll, condemned the "cowardly attacks on uninvolved people" in view of the terrorist attacks on that day in Brussels, without resorting to "turning Europe into a fortress" as a possible response. 46 A statement by the Executive Board of the ÖRKÖ on 3 November 2020, referring to the victims of the terrorist attack in Vienna on 2 November 2020, stated that "the faith of the Gospel" was stronger "than terror and fear." 47 The then chairman of the ÖRKÖ, Superintendent Lothar Pöll, had already explicitly condemned the "cowardly attacks on uninvolved people" in the statement "Terror ist Gotteslästerung" of 22 March 2016. 48 2.7. Political responsibility In various statements, the ÖRKÖ have addressed political responsibility in Austria. 49 In particular, they saw the "basic security for all people in this country" as "urgently necessary". 50 The ÖRKÖ also provided guidance with regard to the National Council elections on 29 September 2019 and 15 October 2017 51 and in 2012 a statement on the "crisis of politics" in Austria. 52 In Europe instead of a Europe of division and contempt for humanity." 53 There was also a statement by the Executive Board of the ÖRKÖ at the conference in Vienna "Europa eine Seele geben" from 3 to 5 May 2006 between the Foreign Office of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Pontifical Council for Culture. 54 In the statement of 19 March 2009 on the global financial crisis, the Assembly of the ÖRKÖ rejected "a financial economy that shirks responsibility for the environment, justice and the future" as the wrong way forward. It was recalled that the churches "in many statements of the assemblies of the confessional world bodies and the ÖRKÖ, in the three European Ecumenical Assemblies in Basel, Graz and Sibiu/Hermannstadt, in Austria among others in the 'Ökumenisches Sozialwort' and the 'Prozess‚ Wirtschaften im Dienst des Lebens'," called for a "fundamental reform of the world economic system" and identified concrete points for this, such as "comprehensive measures for international and global tax justice and for strengthening public budgets," "reforms of the international financial system and protection of livelihoods" as well as the "debt issue." 55 In a statement of 19 March 2009, the Assembly of the ÖRKÖ took a position on the global financial crisis. 56

Bioethics and dignified dying
"Bioethics" has increasingly come into focus. In 2001, Austria envisaged the establishment of an Austrian Bioethics Commission, which was set up by the Federal Chancellery on 29 June 2001. 58 The ÖRKÖ had issued a statement on the forthcoming foundation in May 2001. 59 Pope John Paul II particularly emphasised the protection of life at the beginning and its end. 60 The Christian churches and religious communities represented in the ÖRKÖ, in view of an intensified discussion in various European countries on the problem of dying with dignity, addressed the public on this issue in a declaration of January 2000. They rejected "actions that unnecessarily prolong a person's process of striving instead of allowing dying" as well as "actions and decisions that directly aim at ending life." At the time, they expressly demanded that the current legal situation in Austria should "be maintained at all costs." 61 At the end of September 2003, the ÖRKÖ sent a letter to all members of the Austrian Federal Government and to all Austrian representatives in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which was again discussing the question of active euthanasia. 62 In view of the discussion on euthanasia the letter on measures at the end of life written by the Congregation for 58  the Doctrine of the Faith on 14 July 2020 also condemned euthanasia and assisted suicide and saw both as ethically prohibited. 63 Despite these clear statements, the Austrian federal government proposed a bill on assisted suicide in October 2021, which was passed in December 2021. 64 The law was passed because the Austrian Constitutional Court had lifted the previous ban on assisted suicide on 31 December 2021. 65 It justified this on the grounds that the criminal offence of "assisted suicide" violated the individual's right to free self-determination. 66

Islam
The number of Muslims in Austria continues to rise. 67 At the same time, many Austrians are afraid of Islam. In April 2007, the ÖRKÖ issued a declaration on Islam in Austria, in which -one year after the Inter-national Imam Conference in Vienna 68 -it expressed its "interest in a good coexistence of Christians and Muslims" in Austria and referred to "already manifold forms of encounter and cooperation". The organisation spoke out in favour of "the increased promotion of a differentiated perception of the Islam". 69 The Declaration of the Second Vatican Council on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions Nostra Aetate 70 and the Catechetical Directory of 2020 71 explicitly called for the dialogue with Islam.

Expressing solidarity with Christians all over the world and encounters among Christian churches and religious communities
In the statement Solidarität mit den christlichen Kirchen im Heiligen Land of 20 May 2020, the Executive Board of the ÖRKÖ explicitly expressed its opinion on the feared dramatic effects of the annexation of Palestinian territories and raised a warning voice. 72 A resolution on the "situation of Christians in the Middle East" adopted by the Assembly of the ÖRKÖ on 9 October 2014 expressed "solidarity with the Christians of the Middle East whose right to live is threatened" in view of the suffering brought by the terrorist militia of the so-called Islamic State and other extremist groups in Iraq and Syria. 73 Already on 18 October 2012, the Assembly of the ÖRKÖ had declared its solidarity with the Christians in Syria. 74 Also, on 19 March 2009, the ÖRKÖ had written a letter to the Federal Government in Austria about the situation of the "Christians in Iraq." 75 In the spirit of exchange and mutual understanding, a meeting of representatives of the Ecumenical Councils of Churches from Austria, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary took place, among others, which ended with a communiqué on 6 December 2004. 76

Statements on worship, sacramental and social action
Faith manifests itself not only in propagation and teaching, but also in liturgical celebration and in Christian action and social charity. Despite the adherence to the prohibition of sacramental communion (communication in sacris) by the legislation of the Catholic Church, the latter creates, as Johann Hirnsperger points out, "as a counterbalance to this, ecumenical exceptional law which makes limited sacramental communion possible." 77 With the new edition of the orientation guide on liturgical and church law issues in 2016, the ÖRKÖ provides an insight into the teaching and practice of eleven Christian churches and religious communities in Austria on five basic topics, namely, on birth, childhood and youth, marriage, illness, death and burial, as well as on Sundays and public holidays. 78 83 From the point of view of the Roman Catholic Church in Austria, the orientation guide of the ÖRKÖ explicitly emphasises that there is no "pulpit and communion fellowship in the sense of ecumenical consensus" with any other Christian church or religious community, but that there is the possibility of preaching by members of other Christian churches and religious communities in non-Eucharistic services and in ecumenical services on numerous occasions. 84 In 2003 und 2004, a mixed Catholic-Evangelical commission published "Richtlinien für ökumenische Gottesdienste" as an orientation guide for the organisation of such services for the member churches of the ÖRKÖ. 85 A clear distinction is made "between ecumenical services and an interreligious or multi-religious cel-ebration," since the members of different religions "usually do not say a common prayer," but can say "prayers from different religions one after the other on a certain theme, e.g. 'peace'." In the case of interreligious celebrations at schools, according to the orientation guide, "not only the religious affiliation of the pupils, but also that of the teachers should be taken into consideration.
[…] Active participation in these interreligious celebrations, especially at schools, is only to be granted to members of the state-recognised religious and confessional communities." 86 Already in 2003, the ÖRKÖ had published a Sozialwort, which was developed during a four-year process (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003). 87 In it, the churches and religious communities united in the ÖRKÖ addressed social problems in the areas of education, media, work, economy, social security and ecology and tried to give an answer to them from a Christian perspective. With the brochure "Solidarische Gemeinde", the ÖRKÖ wanted to give parishes in Austria background information on social issues and concrete suggestions for appropriate action. It was the result of the process "sozialwort 10+". 88 In addition, the ÖRKÖ and the New Apostolic Church Austria published Eine Orientierungshilfe für die Gemeinden. 89 particular, but also the individual Christian churches and religious societies in Austria are called upon. Thus, in addition to the statements and information leaflets issued by the ÖRKÖ, there are numerous joint words by representatives of Christian churches and religious communities on various occasions and topics. In addition, the Protestant-Catholic Theological Commission, commissioned by the Bishop of Linz and the Superintendent of the Protestant Church A.B. of Upper Austria, wrote a joint word for the Protestant and Catholic Churches in Upper Austria on the occasion of the commemoration of Martin Luther and the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017, in which not only "important, painful and yet fruitful stages on the path through history for both churches" were highlighted, but also "the joint continuation on the ecumenical path and the corresponding work mandate for both churches." 90 In all dialogue between the Christian churches and religious communities, however, the necessity of interreligious dialogue must not be overlooked. Dichiarazioni congiunte dei rappresentanti delle comunità cristiane su questioni importanti in Austria in relazione alle indicazioni del Papa in Ut unum sint (n. 43) S om m a r io Nella sua enciclica Ut unum sint, Papa Giovanni Paolo II ha invitato i responsabili delle Chiese cristiane a redigere dichiarazioni congiunte su problemi urgenti (n. 43). Il Consiglio ecumenico delle Chiese in Austria (ÖRKÖ), al quale, a differenza della Germania, appartiene anche la Chiesa cattolica, ha esaudito questa richiesta e il desiderio del Papa rilasciando numerose dichiarazioni congiunte su vari argomenti. Queste dichiarazioni congiunte saranno ampiamente pubblicizzate fino all'inizio del 2022.