Abstract / DOI
The Joys and the Hopes, the Griefs and the Anxieties of the Men of this Age: Diaconic experiences in Pastoral Care in a Situation of Diaspora. In a situation of religious diaspora the Catholic church is confronted with specific challenges and possibilites. Being less a host than a guest in a widely non-religious society she has the chance to develop new forms of pastoral care such as the following: christian «Lebenswendefeiern», a certain ceremony considered as an alternative to confirmation and the former atheistic «Jugendweihe» (Youth consecration) especially in East Germany; new rites of Christian burial and of the Death anniversary, offering places of commemoration for those, who struggle with the hope for ressurection; new perspectives of Church architecture, which allow the inclusion and easy access of the passerby.