FAITH, HOPE AND GERMANY

"THE German church finances a hundred Polish missionaries" said a German theologian wryly. "we're a rich Church. you see, but it's the Poles who have plenty of vocations."
The theologian's wry remarks was prompted by Pope John Paul's five-day visit to West Germany which begins tomorrow.
The West German church seems problem-free as well as prosperous but some fear its serenity is obtained at the cost of vitality.
The Pope was invited by the West German bishops and civil authorities for the seventh centenary commemorations of the death of St Albert the Great, a 13th century Dominican theologian and bishop who, for seven years, taught St Thomas Aquinas.
The bishops suggested the Pope come in May, but he chose November, even though warned the weather would discourage crowds. After his trip to France earlier this year, a trip to the German sister church was almost obligatory: moreover it reflects the close relations between the Pope and the German cardinals who were important for his election; and it can also be seen as a tribute to the aid the German church provides for missionary and development activities in the Third World, The Missio, Misereor and Adveniat organisations each provide more than £20 million a year. (The wealth of the German Church is linked to a controversial State tax on believers which is handed to the respective churches).
it was hoped John Paul would take the opportunity offered by a country almost 50 per cent Catholic and 50 per cent Protestant to encourage ecumenism. In the past decade West German ecumenism. despite progress in theological dialogue, has stagnated at the grass-roots. But the programme drawn-up by the West German bishops allows only 50 minutes for John Paul to meet 15 nonCatholic religious groups. Of course, the Pope could go beyond the programme.
In comparatively prosperous Germany, John Paul will probably speak against consumerism. "Many Germans will be prepared to listen if he speaks cogently on contrasts between our faith and consumerism," said a German member of the Roman curia." 1 hope only that he finds a language and style which reaches 'anonymous Christians', that is those who are interested in religion but don't respond to the traditional formulas used by our bishops." The comment reveals a suspicion that the wealth of the German church and the unity of its bishops hides a more worrying situation. This is reflected, not so much in the 25 per cent Figure for Sunday Mass attendance, or in the postconciliar vocations slide which has left parishes in the hands of one ageing priest when they used to be served by two or three. Rather it is reflected in a split between youths with religious interests and the official Church structures. One sign of this was the complaint of young people that they were not adequately represented at the Catholic Congress (Katholikentagen) held in Berlin last June.
Hans Kung was trying to reach those deaf to the traditional approach, but he was told he was over the border himself. Commemorating St Albert the Great. John Paul could well broach the theme of theology adapting to new modes of thought as St Albert did in "baptising" Aristotelianism.
Polish-German relations add piquancy to this German visit by a Polish pope. Although the late Cardinal Julius Doepfner was an early proponent of GermanPolish rapprochement, his suggestion was not taken up by the episcopal conference. Many other bishops were diffident of the Ostpolitik introduced by the Socialist government.
The future Pope John Paul visited Germany more or less privately in 1974, but returned again in 1978 with a Polish episcopal delegation. Cardinal Joseph Hamner, Archbishop of Cologne, hailed the visit as the beginning of a new era but the painful past was revived when Hans Maier, the Bavarian Minister For Education, objected to the recognition of present Polish borders in school texts.
Maier happens also to be the president of the German Catholics Central Committee. In other words, he is the No. I German Catholic layman. .
Following his objection to the school texts, Cardinal Wyszynski and other Poles did not accept invitations to attend the Catholic Congress in Berlin. Relations improved somewhat when the German bishops made a return visit to Poland this September (the Polish hosts allowed them to visit former East German dioceses now in Poland). Pope John Paul will have to refer to the Middle Ages if' he wants to cite periods of good Polish-German relations.
Another intriguing aspect of the papal trip is that it will be picked-up by television in East Germany and John Paul will visit dioceses, such as Fulda, which lie partly in East Germany.
The Holy See usually ensures that diocesan boundaries respect political borders. But it has not revised diocesan boundaries according to the East-West German border as if it still considers the border only provisional.
In fact, for the Vatican, the West Germany bishops constitute the German episcopal conference, while those of East Germany are grouped in the Berlin episcopal conference: the implication is that East Germany does not exist.
John Paul II is not visiting Berlin where the political aspect could become paramount, but nevertheless, his speech in Fulda, burial place of St Boniface, the English apostle of Germany, and traditional headquarters of the German Church, will be monitored for any references to the division of Germany.
What is hoped from John Paul's eighth trip outside Italy which will take him to Cologne. Bonn, Osnabruck, Mainz, Alotting, and Munich as well as Fulda? "That he'll show how a bishop can dialogue directly with people" said Georg Poschke, a Munich journalist who works for the German-language edition of "L'Osservatore Romano" and also show how to reach people who are outside the official church."