Der Rheinische Reformkreis. Dokumente zu Modernismus und Reformkatholizismus 1942-1955 (review)

Abstract

Der Rheinische Reformkreis. Dokumente zu Modernismus and Reformkatholizismus 1942-1955. Edited by Hubert Wolf and Claus Arnold. 2 vols. (Paderborn: Ferdinand Schoningh. 2001. Pp. vi, 667; vi, 753. DM 336.) Reform Catholicism was a diffuse movement in Germany among Catholic scholars, pastors, and lay leaders from the late 1800's until the mid-1900's. It sprang from the conviction that the Catholic Church needed to update itself in relation to contemporary thought and culture. Reform Catholicism's proponents distanced themselves from Modernism by insisting that they were not questioning the Church's essential teachings and structure but calling for its renewal. In a word, they were committed to the Church's inculturation, though they did not use this term. In particular, they judged that the Church's updating should bring about the reformulation of doctrines, the return of ecclesiastical authority to the local churches and their bishops, a greater degree of academic freedom for theologians, the elimination of the requirement of clerical celibacy, and the Church's recognition of the value of literature, music, and art outside of the Catholic tradition. Reform Catholicism's first generation included F. X. Kraus, J. Muller, and H. Schell; its second generation, A. Ehrhard and S. Merkle; its third generation, K. Adam; and its fourth and last generation, the members of the Reform Documents pertaining to this Circle are contained in Der Rheinische Reformkreis. The Rhine Reform Circle came about through the initiative of Oskar Schroeder (1889-1974), who convoked the group's first meeting on January 2, 1942. Along with Schroeder, the charter members were Josef Thome, Wilhelm Lenzen, Johannes Hessen, and Wilhelm Wilbrand. By 1944 the Circle was composed of a core of approximately twenty members and an outer group of nearly eighty members; most members belonged to the dioceses of Aachen, Cologne, and Munster. After 1947 membership steadily declined. Schroeder formally ended the Rhine Reform Circle in 1955. Over thirteen years, the group's leaders wrote position papers for their meetings, kept minutes of their discussions, and also saved their correspondence. Der Rheinische Reformkries consists of four units. The first unit is an introduction containing three essays. Hubert Wolf, professor of church history formerly at Frankfurt am Main and now at Munster, explains that this collection of documents is significant, for it discloses the religious thought of one group of Catholic pastors, lay leaders, and religion teachers in Germany at mid-century. In particular, it shows that some members of this grassroots association were inspired by the writings of George Tyrrell, Alfred Loisy, and Baron Friedrich von Hugel, and hence were advocating to some extent a neomodernism. In fact, Schroeder and Thome clearly held a modernist view of doctrine. The introduction's other two essays were written by Wolf's academic assistants. Claus Arnold highlights specific themes and issues that emerge in the assembled documents. For example, the Circle was intent upon forming a mediating theology that would reconcile the piety of German romanticism, historical consciousness, and a respect for church doctrine. Barbara Wieland provides a critical commentary on two books that were anonymously published likely by members of the Rhine Reform Circle. These two works-Der Katholizismus. Sein Stirb and Werde (1937) and Der Katholizismus der Zukunft (1940)-- make proposals for changes in the Church that are similar to the proposals found in the materials of the Rhine Reform Circle. …