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| | #REDIRECT [[Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas]] |
| {{infobox WorldScouting
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| | type = organization
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| | image = Guides and Scouts of Europe membership badge.png
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| | caption = Catholic Guides and Scouts of Europe
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| | name = Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas
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| | headquarters =
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| | location = Herbstein-Rixfeld
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| | country = [[Germany]]
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| | f-date = [[February 15th]], [[1976]]
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| | founder = Andreas Hönisch SJM, Günther Walter
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| | members = 2,500
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| | chiefscout = Martin Hafner (Bundesfeldmeister), Edeltraut Weßler (Bundesmeisterin), Andreas Hönisch SJM (Bundeskurat)
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| | owner =
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| }}
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| The '''Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas''' (KPE; roughly ''Catholic Guides and Scouts of Europe'') is a [[Germany|German]] [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[Scouting]] organization with 2,500 members.<ref name="ARD-Monitor">{{cite web |title=Katholischer Fundamentalismus: Pfadfinder auf Abwegen |url=http://www.wdr.de/tv/monitor/beitrag.phtml?bid=609&sid=116# |publisher=[[Westdeutscher Rundfunk]] |accessdate=2007-01-28 |language=German}}</ref> It is part of the [[Union Internationale des Guides et Scouts d’Europe]] (UIGSE). ''Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas - Österreich'' (KPE-Ö) is an [[Austria|Austrian]] sister organization which works closely with its German counterpart.
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| The KPE is closely linked with the [[religious order|order]] [[Servi Jesu et Mariae]] (SJM), which runs a [[boarding school]] in [[Lippetal]], [[North Rhine-Westphalia]].
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| There is some controversy surrounding the KPE, both within the German Catholic Church and also in the German Scouting movement, centered upon the KPE's focus on proselytization, its connections to [[Catholic fundamentalism|Catholic fundamentalist networks]], and its tendency toward isolation from other groups. The KPE is considered by some to be a [[Fundamentalism|fundamentalist]] group.
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| ==Aims==
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| The KPE describes its aims as follows:<ref name="KPE goals">{{cite web| title=Unsere Ziele |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20050131160635/http://kpe.de/ziele/ziele.htm |publisher=Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas |accessdate=2005-01-06 |language=German}}</ref>
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| :''Our Goal: Responsible Christian personalities''
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| :''Man wants to give sense to his unique life! Not an unsure, mediocre, false sense but a true one filling him and letting him outstrip himself.''
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| :''Man finds this sense in Jesus Christ. In response, man joyfully takes on the burden of service to God and his fellow man.''
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| Observers describe the KPE as loyal to the [[Pope]], conservative, and traditional in its Scouting activities and in its spirituality. Great emphasis is placed on the regular [[Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)|confession]] (see [[Catechism of the Catholic Church]], Sections 1423-1442) and the regular attendance of [[Eucharist (Catholic Church)|Mass]] (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 1389) which is celebrated in some groups according to [[Tridentine Mass|Tridentine Rite]].
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| ==History==
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| The KPE was founded on [[February 15th]], [[1976]]. Its founding members had left the [[Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg]] because they felt that their ideas about Scouting and spirituality had been disregarded in the reforms of the [[1960s]] and [[1970s]]. [[Andreas Hönisch]], Superior General of the SJM, and [[Günther Walter]] were both instrumental in the KPE's founding and still hold positions of leadership.
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| In 1977, the Fédération du Scoutisme Européen (FSE), predecessor of the [[Union Internationale des Guides et Scouts d’Europe]], admitted the KPE as full member.
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| Some local groups left the KPE in 1986 because of its rigid structure and founded a new Scouting organization, the [[Europapfadfinder Sankt Michael]].
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| The [[Diocese of Augsburg]] recognized the KPE as a Catholic youth organization in 1992. The KPE's umbrella organization, UIGSE, was recognized by the [[European Parliament]] in 1984, and as [[Roman Catholic lay ecclesial movement|lay organization]] by the [[Holy See]] in 2003.
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| In 1994, the [[Südwestfunk]] broadcasted the movie "Himmel und Hölle" (Heaven and Hell), that was based on incidents within the KPE. Its authenticity is questionable, a court decision forbade mentioning possible connections between the movie and the KPE in public.<ref name="court decision">Landgericht Stuttgart, Az. 17 O 190/96</ref> Despite this decision the KPE was heavily attacked by the press after each broadcast of the movie.
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| In 2003 the organization's paper "Pfadfinder Mariens" promoted a book of the [[far right]] politician [[Rolf Kosiek]] published by the extreme right [[Hohenrain-Verlag]]. Further on, Thomas Niggl OSB, member of the [[Work of the Holy Angels]], advocated theses of the extreme right [[Deutsche Studiengemeinschaft]].
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| After press reports on the possible entanglement of the KPE and the SJM in the [[Kurt Krenn#St. Pölten pornography scandal|St. Pölten pornography scandal]] the [[Conference of the German Bishops]] officially distanced itself from the KPE in summer 2004 by stating its non-adherence to the [[Bund der deutschen katholischen Jugend]], the union of recognised Catholic youth organizations in Germany.<ref name="ARD-Monitor"/>
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| Later in the same year some groups and most of the leaders of the Austrian sister organization KPE-Ö left the organization and accused the German KPE and Andreas Höhnisch of interfering in its internal affairs.<ref name="KPE-Ö1">{{cite web |title=KPE-Webmaster erhebt schwere Anschuldigungen gegen SJM und Hönisch |url=http://www.kath.net/detail.php?id=9390 |publisher=kath.net |accessdate=2007-01-28 |language=German}}</ref> In response the supporters of German KPE stated that these groups were influenced by [[Freemasonry|masonic]] ideas.<ref name="KPE-Ö2">{{cite news |title=Pfadfinderkrise in Österreich? P. Hönisch stellt klar |publisher=kreuz.net |accessdate=2007-01-28 |language=German}}</ref> The secessors formed the [[Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder Europas - Österreich]].<ref name="PPE">{{cite web |title=Geschichte und Entwicklung |url=http://pfadfinder-europas.home.pages.at/Geschichte.html |publisher= Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder Europas - Österreich |accessdate=2007-01-28 |language=German}}</ref>
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| ==Controversy==
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| Critics of the KPE focus mainly on three points, namely:
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| *[[proselytization]]
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| *cooperation with Catholic fundamentalist groups
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| *isolation of members from the outside world
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| Critics accuse the KPE of forcing its members to participate in religious exercises, especially in attending mass and regular confession.<ref name="netzwerksekten">{{cite web |title=Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas (KPE) |url=http://www.netzwerksekten.privat.t-online.de/kpe.htm |publisher=Netzwerk gegen Sekten Arbeitskreis Münsterland |accessdate=2007-01-28 |language=German}}</ref> In some cases younger Scouts and Guides had been horrified by drastic descriptions of [[Hell]].<ref name="ARD-Monitor"/> [[Pro-life]] manifestations organized by the KPE and [[procession]]s against [[Blasphemy|blasphemic]] movies support this view of massive religious influence in its members' lifes.
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| The cooperation of the SJM with conservative Catholic groups as the [[Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter]], the [[Aktion Leben]] and [[Una Voce]] is used as evidence when accussing the KPE of [[Catholic traditionalism]].<ref name="SZ 1995-07-01">{{cite web |title=Die Machenschaften der Katholischen Pfadfinderschaft Europas |url=http://www.sekteninfo-bayern.de/KPE-SZ.html |publisher=[[Süddeutsche Zeitung]] |accessdate=2007-01-28 |language=German}}</ref> Until 1992, the adherence to the Work of the Holy Angels was officially advocated by the KPE.<ref name="netzwerksekten"/> Today, still some members of the KPE hold contacts to the [[Work of the Holy Angels]] and the [[Society of St. Pius X]].<ref name="sekteninfo-main">{{cite web |title= Infos über die katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas |url=http://www.sekteninfo-bayern.de/kpe.htm |publisher=Sekteninfo-Bayern.de |accessdate=2007-01-28 |language=German}}</ref> In 2007, there is at least one German Scout group connected to the Society of St. Pius X with very close contacts to the KPE.<ref name="">{{cite web |title=Satzung |url=http://www.st-theresia-gym.de/kpj/richtlinien/KPJ-Satzung_10-06.htm |publisher=Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Jeanne d'Arc |accessdate=2008-01-28 |language=German}}</ref>
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| The isolation of the KPE's members from other, possibly interfering, groups is mainly criticized by German Scouts. Until 2000, groups of the KPE participated in and even organized joint events.<ref name="JF">{{cite web |title=Der Tradition verpflichtet |url=http://www.jf-archiv.de/archiv99/109aa34.htm |publisher=[[Junge Freiheit]] |accessdate=2007-01-28 |language=German}}</ref> Since then, the KPE retreated nearly totally from the German Scout movement; only a few groups hold contacts to similar oriented organizations like the [[Evangelische Pfadfinderschaft Europas]] or the Europapfadfinder Sankt Michael.<ref name="kreuz.net">{{cite news | title=Das Singen ist ihnen noch nicht vergangen, den Katholiken |publisher=kreuz.net |accessdate=2007-01-28 |language=German}}</ref>
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| ==Literature==
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| *Andreas Hönisch: ''Liebe Freunde von Pfadfinder Mariens.'' Volume 1. SJM-Verlag, Meckenheim 2001. ISBN 3-932426-20-7
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| *Bundesvorstand der Deutschen Pfadfinderschaft Sankt Georg: ''Arbeitspapier mit Dokumenten zum Phänomen der „Katholischen Pfadfinderschaft Europas“ (KPE) sowie zu neueren Entwicklungen im Spektrum katholischer Splittergruppen''. Georgs-Verlag, Neuss 1994
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| *Hans Gasper: ''Priesterbruderschaft St. Petrus, Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas (KPE), Servi Jesu et Mariae (SJM)''. Impulse für die pastorale Arbeit Nr. 19, Wien 1995
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| == Sources ==
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| {{Reflist}}
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| ==External links==
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| * [http://www.kpe.de/ Homepage of the KPE] (Germany)
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| * [http://www.kpe.at.tt/ Homepage of the KPE-Ö] (Austria)
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| * [http://www.sekteninfo-bayern.de/kpe.htm Sekteninfo Bayern] – critics of the KPE
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| * [http://www.netzwerksekten.privat.t-online.de/index.htm Netzwerk gegen Sekten] – critics of KPE and SJM
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| [[Category:Scouting in Germany]]
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| [[Category:Non-aligned Scouting organizations]]
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