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Erny Gillen

THE TWO SIDES OF THE SAMARITAN IMPERATIVE!

By Erny GillenMarch 1, 2016

 

LOGO KLENG

When the Samaritan (Lk 10,25-37) saw the beaten and robbed person he was moved and he helped, although he had no idea who this man was, where he came from, what he believed in or what his life was about. To the Samaritan this was all irrelevant. He saw a fellow human being in need and he provided first aid.

Jesus told this parable to a lawyer. It was his historical answer to the moral question “Who is my neighbour?”. The Moral Law expressed through The Samaritan Imperative is categorical or universal as Kant would say. It is beyond religion. Love comes first as a moral and transformative choice.

Who ever follows the Samaritan Imperative on the roadsides of life makes the world a better place. Love matters! Christians and many other groups and religions have heard and followed the Samaritan Imperative. And as Samaritans, they rely on the Innkeepers who take over. Before they continue their own journey — like the Priest and the Levite — the Samaritans pay the Innkeeper to step in and prolong their love-story. The Parable of the Good Samaritan works also because of the unnamed and often forgotten Innkeeper.

For the Innkeeper the Samaritan Imperative is not categorical, but hypothetical. Service will be provided under fair conditions. His action is part of the Samaritan’s action who promised to come back and to pay even more if necessary. Many Non-Profit-Inns are and were designed to serve on such a hypothetical basis. They participate in the Samaritan Imperative in their own right and way.

Love of the neighbour — as any love — is hard and continuous work. As a categorical imperative it is upheld by the lighter, but necessary hypothetical imperative. A cohesive society needs both sides of the Samaritan Imperative: ever new Samaritans and fair Innkeepers!

Happy to read your comments.

Erny Gillen, consults, teaches, and writes about ethics & leadership

EIN TEE-GLEICHNIS ZU GLAUBE & MORAL

By Erny GillenFebruary 18, 2016

Tee-im-Wald-1024x683Ein Tee-Gleichnis zu Glaube & Moral

KURIENKRANKHEITEN HEILEN – NICHT NUR IN ROM

By Erny GillenJanuary 12, 2016

Kurienkrankheiten heilen ist möglich und nötig – nicht nur in Rom

Papst Franziskus bleibt beim Thema. Er will sich und die Reform nicht aufhalten (lassen). Auf den Katalog der Kurienkrankheiten (22. Dezember 2014) folgt ein Jahr später ein Katalog von kurialen Antibiotika (21. Dezember 2015). Die Adressaten sind dieselben: die Kurie in Rom, jeder Christ und alle kirchlichen Kurien: von den Gemeinschaften, Kongregationen über die Pfarreien bis hin zu den kirchlichen Bewegungen.

Das vorgestellte Antibiotikum ist zusammengesetzt aus den Buchstaben des Wortes Misericordia (Barmherzigkeit). Jeder Buchstabe spiegelt zwei Facetten des Heilungsmittels wider. So entsteht ein unerschöpflicher “Katalog der notwendigen Tugenden für die, welche in der Kurie Dienst tun, und für alle, die ihre Weihe oder ihre Arbeit für die Kirche fruchtbar machen wollen”, sagte der Papst.

M issionsgeist + pastorale Grundhaltung

I doneità / Eignung + Scharfsinn

S piritualität + Menschlichkeit

E semplarità / Vorbildlichkeit + Treue

R azionalità / Vernünftigkeit + Liebenswürdigkeit

I nnocuità / wohlwollende Besonnenheit + Entschiedenheit

C arità / Liebe + Wahrheit

O nestà / Ehrlichkeit + Reife

R ispettosità / Achtung + Demut

D oviziosità / Großherzigkeit + Aufmerksamkeit

I mpavidità / Unerschrockenheit + Regsamkeit

A ffidabilità / Vertrauenswürdigkeit + Nüchternheit

Dieser offene Tugendkatalog will der Gesundung dienen. Er richtet sich als moralisches Hilfsangebot an die Freiheit der von den Kurienkrankeiten betroffenen Menschen in der Institution. Dabei geht es um “Krankheiten, die Vorbeugung, Überwachung, Pflege und in einigen Fällen leider schmerzhafte und langwierige Eingriffe erfordern” , heisst es weiter. Die Antibiotika sind nicht das alleinige Heilmittel. Sowie die Barmherzigkeit trotz ihrer bewundernswerten Kraft die sündhaft kranke Wirklichkeit nicht einfach ungeschehen macht, so heilen auch Antibiotika trotz ihres Zaubers nicht einfach an der Ursache vorbei. Dennoch spielen sie im Spektrum der eingesetzten Mittel zur Heilung und Linderung eine wesentliche Rolle. Sie wirken an und in bestimmten Zellen. Sie wirken in der Tiefe.

Die Kurie in Rom hat die Rede gehört. Ob sie beim Patienten angekommen ist und dieser nun die angebotenen Mittel aufgreift um zu gesunden, wird man erst zu späterem Zeitpunkt feststellen können. Ob die vielen anderen Kurien die Rede mitbekommen haben oder nur mitleidig auf den grossen kranken Bruder in Rom blicken, wissen wir erst, wenn eine richtig grosse Bewegung zur Heilung der Kurienkrankheiten einsetzt.

EG 12.1.2016

DER FRANZISKUS-HEBEL : BARMHERZIGKEIT

By Erny GillenDecember 5, 2015

Das Pontifikat von Papst Franziskus steht im Zeichen der Barmherzigkeit. Sein Handeln sagt mehr als tausend Worte. So wartete er letztes Jahr auf die Teilnehmer der Synode, um sie einzeln zu begrüssen, und nicht sie, bis er als letzter feierlich einziehen würde. Er hört nicht nur zu, sondern er ergreift das Wort, aber nicht um die Richtung als Chef vorzugeben, sondern um den Ton zu setzten, der das Zusammenkommen bestimmen soll: wahr und offen soll geredet werden. Er sieht in den zum Teil heftigen Auseinandersetzungen Gottes Geist am Wirken, weil er diesem zutraut in jedem einen Teil der Wahrheit zum Ausdruck zu bringen. Er bezeichnet sich als Sünder, der die Barmherzigkeit Gottes erfahren darf.

Die nächsten Zeichen des Papstes stehen an: Am 8. Dezember beginnt ein Jubiläumsjahr der Barmherzigkeit. Dabei werden u.a. sogenannte Pforten der Barmherzigkeit aufgebrochen und speziell bevollmächtigte Beichtväter ausgesandt, um die Herzen der Gläubigen für die Barmherzigkeit Gottes zu öffnen.

In der Tat gehen Barmherzigkeit und Freiheit Hand in Hand. Wer seine Freiheit einsetzt und so riskiert, ist nie auf der sicheren Seite. Er handelt im Raum anderer Menschen und vieler unbekannter Umstände. Er kontrolliert sein ausgesätes Handeln nicht. Dieses wächst selbständig und nicht immer so wie gemeint. Das gute Tun ist auf gute Annahme angewiesen. Niemand kann es für sich erzwingen, denn einmal gesetzt, entzieht es sich dem Handelnden und entwickelt seine eigene Dynamik. Sogar Nichtstun hilft nicht weiter, weil auch dieses denselben Gesetzen des Handelns unterliegt.

Vor Gott gibt es keinen “Point of no return”. Die Liebe verwirft nicht; sie richtet auf. Ob ein angerichteter Schaden dem Nicht-Einhalten von Geboten und Verboten entspringt oder gerade umgekehrt dem erbarmungslosen Einhalten derselben Gebote und Verbote, ist vor der Barmherzigkeit Gottes ebenso unwesentlich wie vor dem verletzten Menschen, der sich aufrichtet und verzeiht. Die Regeln ersetzen das Handeln nie. Sie sind immer nur vorläufige Krücken und Hilfskonstruktionen, um den Lauf des Menschen möglichst in den Bahnen eines erfüllten und guten Lebens zu halten. Deshalb setzen Barmherzigkeit und Verzeihen die Regeln ja auch nicht ausser Kraft. Sie nehmen den handelnden Menschen in seiner zerbrechlichen Freiheit an und geben ihm eine weitere unverdiente Chance.

Vor der Barmherzigkeit Gottes, die der Kirche aufgetragen ist, zu vermitteln, schmelzen die trennenden Meinungen und die scheinbar schwierigen Fragen, die die Familiensynode in ihrer Existenz nun eindeutig anerkannt hat, dahin. Papst Franziskus wird die noch verschlossenen Pforten der Barmherzigkeit Anfang Dezember in Rom öffnen. Er hat die Bischöfe eingeladen, auch in ihren Lokalkirchen solche Tore der Barmherzigkeit zu öffnen. Und er hat mit der neuen Pforte der Barmherzigkeit am Hauptbahnhof Termini in Rom ein weiteres Zeichen gesetzt. Die Arbeit der Caritas fällt in die Kategorie der Barmherzigkeit, nicht unter das Kirchenrecht, wie einzelne es fordern.

Im Jubeljahr der Barmherzigkeit steht der Neuanfang aller im Vordergrund. Ob wieder verheiratet Geschiedene in der Gemeinschaft voll und ganz aufgenommen werden? Ob neue Regeln alte ersetzen werden? Ob Gleichgeschlechtliche ihre Liebe offen in der Kirche leben können? Ob Priester heiraten dürfen? Dies sind alles nur Fragen der Zeit. Und so wie die alten Antworten und Regeln keine Gerechtigkeit schaffen konnten, so werden es auch keine neuen tun. Und so wie die alte Freiheit keine Garantie für das gute Handeln war, so wird es auch die neu versuchte nicht sein. Der Mensch bleibt sowohl unter den Regeln als unter seiner Freiheit ein Sünder, der auf die Barmherzigkeit angewiesen ist – im Heute und im Morgen der Zeit.

Wenn der Papst die Pforten der Barmherzigkeit aufbricht und die Herzen aller Gläubigen sich von der barmherzigen Liebe Gottes erfassen lassen, nimmt das Jubeljahr als neuer und ungeschuldeter Anfang seinen Lauf. Eine nächste Arbeitsschicht beginnt. Freiheit und Verantwortung legen sich (wieder) fest und bilden unter den Moralschaffenden die nächsten zerbrechlichen Feldversuche würdiger Menschwerdung. Eine befreite Moral-Fabrik produziert wieder ein weiteres Kapitel.

EG

IMAGING INTEGRAL LEADERSHIP SYSTEMS & CULTURES

By Erny GillenNovember 10, 2015

Following Jesus through time and space the catholic tradition brought into life many leadership models. Each time when the signs of the time requested a specific incarnation of the gospel creative people and communities stood up and forged an adapted version of christian life as their answer to the then historical needs.

Today the petrinien model is the best known and copied through governmental administrations worldwide and locally, but also through feudal like organised companies and organisations. People governed by any petrinien type organisation rely more on a defined structure then on a content or on common goals. The belonging component is ensured through a kind of creed or constitution opening large spaces for personal interpretation and implementation. A democratic state guarantees personal freedom and inner dissent. Pluralism was the logical result and brought many flourishing systems into existence. This model worked fine for many decades, but seems coming to an end in our global world and in our common home.

If we look at the very first model when the church was growing as community of communities another model comes to our mind. I call it for the sake of simplicity the paulinien model. Saint Paul had that wonderful vision of the Church being multi-faced and colourful communities with many charisms. He captured his vision for us in the great image of the human body as an interdependent and interconnected “tensegrity” living being. In that approach leadership comes from all “ends” and it doesn’t sit in the head or in the heart of that body. A living being (and organisations are living organisms as well) needs all it’s parts to advance and evolve in time. Leadership sometimes comes from the eye and another time from the foot. To keep it balanced all parts must cooperate. Celeste was rightly pointing to “self-awareness” and a corporate “conscience” in order to avoid “teleo-pathy”. If the foot and the eye are involved in conflicting aims the whole body will tremble and lose control. Leadership is a matter for a meaningful and corporate culture where everyone leads at his “end” and where the centre for decision making (may it be the heart or the brain) is well connected to all its parts. Pope Francis used very eloquently this model of leadership during the Synode of the Family.

Management and governance do need this type of leadership to save human persons from becoming simple elements in systems which are going to replace the failing and weak ones efficiently under the pressure of finances and so-called formal quality requirements. Young people reminded us that they do not trust such institutions, because those institutions are not loyal to people. Pope Francis in Evangelii gaudium urges world leaders in the same spirit and mindset to fight situations “of generalised wastefulness” (Nr.191) when he sees and puts in front of us what todays world is doing to the poor. “The excluded are not the “exploited” but the outcast, the “leftovers”” (Nr.53). The human person and her integral development are at stake. Peaceful leadership must be integral and including. It is more than a technic. It is more than skills and systems. It is about living to one’s full potential as a community or organisation. No artificial intelligence will replace this sacred intelligence embedded in humans and communities. This sacred intelligence as an expression of our common (corporate) conscience is our thread into a better future for the best of our institutions and for the best of our world. It is a missionary task because it’s about the reign of God in our midst, the resurrection of people against all forms of death.

Going for a “community embedded leadership system” could be a deliberate choice for a culture of life breaking through the cultures of death. Shared leadership is not a dream, but can be learned in a given community which takes care of all its stakeholders. A good leader is always a systemic part of a whole system of leadership in which he or she is accepted (and thus leading). An internally rejected leader is a formal and costly element in a self-organised system which would work the same way without that person.

Making the catholic leadership initiative an international one would certainly provide more space for manoeuvring and avoiding blind spots linked to one specific cultural approach.

Happy to read any reactions and comments!

erny

POPE FRANCIS BRINGS CHANGE!

By Erny GillenOctober 31, 2015

Francis, the Bishop of Rome, brings to the Church a type of change that many Catholics were not expecting. While looking for the usual papal guidance, they are encouraged to walk and follow Jesus in responsibility. While some 280 bishops were exploring the mystery of Family during the Synods in Rome over the last two years, they learned to understand that there are different and acceptable views among them on some difficult issues. While the American People and its Congress were waiting for a further papal condemnation of abortion, they had to hear that life is indeed sacred and therefore the death penalty should be banned.

Pope Francis changes radically the perspective of those raising questions and looking for answers. He simply turns to the reality of people experiencing need, whether it be material, spiritual, moral or an unknown distress. He had made this clear at the very beginning of his pontificate. Any one who has read his programmatic apostolic letter Evangelii gaudium (Nov 2013) should not be taken by surprise. “Sometimes we are tempted to be that kind of Christian who keeps the Lord’s wounds at arm’s length. Yet Jesus wants us to touch human misery, to touch the suffering flesh of others. (…) Whenever we do so, our lives become wonderfully complicated and we experience intensely what it is to be a people, to be part of a people” (Nr. 270). This Pope likes complexity and dialogue because he believes that in the midst of open and honest debates among brothers, and the all too often missing sisters, a new attitude and new behavioural patterns will arise.

On December, 8th the gates of mercy will be opened in Rome by Pope Francis and in each local Church throughout the world by the local Bishop.The flock should find open doors worldwide. Those who seek, will find a merciful Father. Those who do not understand mercy because they are not thirsting for it, will remain in their closed churches, complaining about those who are forgiven their sins, celebrating with the Father and eating the best calf together with the servants.

Let’s understand the logic of a Pope who calls himself a sinner and who ask’s “who am I to condemn?” The real difference he brings should not be searched for in the change of whatever doctrine. It is again about people. He deals with the elder son. He touches the inner morality of Christian life. In this way he radically changes the approach of traditional moral theology by transforming it swiftly into a newly to be elaborated “Theology of Morality”. A Theology, in which priests and bishops follow the people of God, a people which “does not err in faith, even though it may not find words to explain that faith” (Nr. 119). The latter is the task of theologians and pastors!

Pope Francis works on our hearts of stone. With his words and deeds he transforms the environment, our culture which co-authors our moral norms and judgments. And together with the people of good he hopes for a change coming from the hearts of all concerned. Without her people the Church will be lost. Hope is where the many doors of mercy will be opened for all. Freedom is where the moral factory starts working again, assuming risks and responsibilities.

CARBON CREDITS: A SOLUTION OR A PLOY?

By Erny GillenSeptember 28, 2015

In his encyclical Laudato si‘ Pope Francis puts a clear question mark to the strategies of “buying and selling carbon credits” (171). At the Conference “Our Common Home” (www.bc.edu/commonhome) John Holdron (Assistant to President Obama for Science and Technology) said the Vatican to be too dismissive towards technological or market solutions to climate change. He might be right if those solutions were driven by economy and new types of profits only! He might be wrong if those solutions are part of a comprehensive moral framework using all the trigger points making the moral factory work!

 

“The strategy of buying and selling “car- bon credits” can lead to a new form of specula- tion which would not help reduce the emission of polluting gases worldwide. This system seems to provide a quick and easy solution under the guise of a certain commitment to the environ- ment, but in no way does it allow for the radi- cal change which present circumstances require. Rather, it may simply become a ploy which per- mits maintaining the excessive consumption of some countries and sectors.” (Laudato si’ 171)

ONE CRISIS CAN HIDE ANOTHER ONE

By Erny GillenSeptember 24, 2015

“Call it a conflict crisis but not a refugee crisis”. Thus were the words Maryanne Loughry, RSM used to make an audience of some 50 people @ BC aware that words are designing and hiding political concepts. If today Europe and moreover the whole world can no longer overlook the crisis notably in Syria, it is because people got a face and names. Too many people on the move had to die before politicians were willing to open their eyes. It were courageous citizens who broke the line of silence and helplessness. They went to the railway stations, they took their cars picking up people on the move alongside the european highways. They encountered women, men and children with names and faces. Wounded people found a smile and the caress of people who took care of them. The wounds inflicted on them in their homelands and recently by the European border guards are appalling and they tell the story of what we don’t want to see: The external root causes and the personal hopes bringing whole families, men and women, children and young people on the most dangerous roads of their life. They invest their naked life because they believe in a better future. Do we believe in a better future with them? They are part of the one human family. They are our brothers and sisters whatever faith, whatever hope, whatever dream drives them to start their journey for (their and our) humanity. Our today’s moral and legal instruments do not seem working anymore. Are we willing to open the box and enter the moral factory leaving behind our moral prejudices about refugees, about migrants, about our power to (not) change (anything)?

Healing moral and curial diseases

By Erny GillenSeptember 5, 2015

HEALING MORAL AND CURIAL DISEASES

Pope Francis goes ahead! He is not afraid to unite what seems divided. He refers to the gospel and firmly believes into a great future for religious organisations, if they are open to change their structures of power as well as their sclerosed norms. Pope Francis believes that it is worth sowing peace even if one had to bite one’s tongue.

 

Read more about how a pope can and does treat curial diseases: How a Pope might treat curial diseases

Erny_Gillen_english_ebook_cover_2-1 Read More »

WATER AND TEA BEHAVE LIKE ETHICS AND RELIGION, SAYS THE DALAI LAMA

By Erny GillenAugust 10, 2015

“I believe that humans can get by without religion, but not without inner values, not without ethics. The difference between ethics and religion is like the difference between water and tea. Religion-based ethics and inner values are more like tea. The tea that we drink is made mostly of water, but it contains other ingredients as well – tea leaves, spices, perhaps a little sugar, and, at least in Tibet, a pinch of salt – and that makes it more substantial, more lasting, something we want to drink every day. Yet no matter how tea is prepared, its main ingredient is always water. We can live without tea, but not without water. Likewise, we are born without religion, but not without the basic need for compassion – and not without the fundamental need for water.”

Excerpt From: Dalai Lama, Franz Alt. “An Appeal by the Dalai Lama to the World – Ethics Are More Important Than Religion.” iBooks.

The Dalai Lama brings it to a simple analogy: Water is the main ingredient of tea even if we might be overwhelmed by the taste of the tea. But is the analogy right when applied to describe the relation between ethics and religion? A great question for a moral factory workshop!

 

 

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