Austria

Sr. Philippa Rath and theology students from Freiburg accepted the award from the Austrian church reform movements in Enns

For the sixth time, Austrian church reform movements have presented the "Trumpet of Jericho" award. It honors individuals "who stand up against outdated church rules."

Previous recipients include Doris Reisinger, Josef Pampalk, Jens Ehebrecht-Zumsande, the initiative "#OutInChurch – For a Church Without Fear," Monika Schmid, Martin Lintner (OSM), and David Steindl-Rast (OSB).

On October 16, 2026, in Enns, the German religious sister Philippa Rath and a group of theology students from the University of Freiburg were honored with the award.

For years, Sr. Philippa Rath has been a staunch advocate for opening ordained church ministries to women. Her books—“...because God wills it: Women Speak About Their Calling to the Diaconate and Priesthood” and “Women into Ministry: Men of the Church Show Solidarity”—have brought significant attention to the "question of women" within the Church. Sr. Philippa also champions gender equality in the Church through her work with the Synodal Path and the Central Committee of German Catholics. Fr. Andreas Batlogg (SJ, Germany) delivered the laudatory speech, thanking Sr. Philippa for consistently raising her voice—"whether in season or out of season"—and for thereby prompting many personal "journeys of learning" for others.

The eleven theology students—three of whom were present to accept the award on behalf of the entire group—officially applied for admission to the local seminary in the spring of 2025. In doing so, they publicly demonstrated that they feel called to the priesthood and wish to become priests within the Catholic Church. Their application to the seminary and its subsequent rejection—which was, however, accompanied by several discussions and a clear expression of appreciation from the rector in charge—garnered significant media attention. The laudatio for the theology students was delivered by Monika Schmid (Switzerland). Drawing connections between the students' story and her own experiences as a pastoral minister, Schmid—visibly moved—thanked the students for the courage they showed in standing up against the prevailing injustice.

The award recipients and the individuals delivering the laudatory speeches were met with prolonged applause. In keeping with tradition, Martina Wirth honored both awards with a virtuoso trumpet solo—the iconic passage from Beethoven’s “Leonor”* Overture. Many guests were particularly struck by the intergenerational dimension of the evening: on one hand, there was Sr. Philippa Rath, a long-standing advocate for gender justice within the Church; on the other, there were young female students who have consciously taken up the cause, expressing explicit gratitude for the work of their predecessors while now contributing their own unique perspectives. In this spirit, Sr. Philippa Rath offered her own heartfelt thanks to the students present.

The awards ceremony took place against the backdrop of the exhibition "The Church Is Female" (Die Kirche ist weiblich), which adorned the event hall and the entire Enns–St. Laurenz parish center. Created by the Women’s Commission of the Diocese of Linz, the photographic exhibition features large fabric panels displaying images of women engaged in a wide variety of roles within the Church—a powerful visual testament to the significant influence women already exert on the Church today. There was a clear consensus among all those present that the time is long overdue to open ordained ministries to women.

Original article in German

Photo: Knell

12 people, 12 paths, 1 question

In the parish church of Hinterzarten, one can currently visit an exhibition that asks what "makes a good priest".

Hinterzarten lies in the southern Black Forest, about 25 kilometers from Freiburg. The town is known primarily as a health resort with high-altitude air quality and as the venue for numerous ski jumping competitions; decades ago, the television series "The Black Forest Clinic" also brought it many visitors.

Anyone visiting Hinterzarten today should also visit the churches. The Protestant Church of the Twelve Apostles is a modern church building from the 1960s, whose colorful stained-glass windows depict an impressive variety of biblical and church stories. Nearby is the so-called "Shepherd's Wagon Church," a kind of "mobile church" for services held in different locations, allowing for services to be accessible to people on the move. And in the Catholic Church of Mary in the Tenderness, one finds a fascinating symbiosis of old and new, also dating back to the 1960s, when the old church building, dating from the 15th to 18th centuries, was impressively modernized. A defining feature of this church, too, is the multitude of stained-glass windows, though here they are in abstract forms.

What is currently captivating visitors, however, is an exhibition presented throughout the entire church: "12 People, 12 Paths, 1 Question" is an art project that arose following the debate surrounding nine female theologians from Freiburg who formally applied for admission to the Freiburg seminary in 2025. While they were not accepted, serious discussions and meetings did take place with the responsible rector, the then Auxiliary Bishop Christian Würtz, who will become Bishop of Eichstätt in October 2026. These discussions were facilitated by Supervisor Christian Kaiser, who soon found himself asking, "What criteria must apply when people apply for a place in priestly formation? Should women be excluded as a matter of principle, even if they are clearly called?" He concludes: "As an independent facilitator of these discussions, I have come to the conviction that these are genuine vocations to the priesthood within the Catholic Church. If vocations do exist, then these young women are indeed called."

The exhibition now presents twelve stories of vocations, which, interestingly, are anonymized: six are the stories of women, six of men. Visitors are invited to engage with these stories and form their own opinions. They will not learn which stories are about men and which are about women. However, at the end of the exhibition, they can write their perspective in a book and answer the question, "Regardless of gender: What, in your opinion, makes a good priest?"

This book will also become part of the exhibition. Not all entries strive for objectivity. One obviously disgruntled person felt compelled to write that it made his "toenails curl" at the prospect of gender issues now infiltrating the church, but many other entries are positive and demonstrate an honest engagement with the topic.

The application of the nine female theology students to the Freiburg seminary in spring 2025 briefly attracted considerable attention. The exhibition in Hinterzarten serves as a kind of initial assessment of their findings. A second assessment will follow when the applicants receive the prize of the Austrian church reform movements in Enns in October 2026.

Reproduced with thanks to We Are Church - Austria
Use the link to read the article in German