Location Herbstein-Rixfeld Founded 1976 Bundesfeldmeister Martin Hafner | Country Germany Membership 2,500 | |
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Founder Andreas Hönisch SJM, Günther Walter | ||
The Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas (KPE; roughly Catholic Guides and Scouts of Europe) is a German Catholic Scouting organization with 2,500 members. It is part of the International Union of Guides and Scouts of Europe. Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas - Österreich (KPE-Ö) is an Austrian sister organization which works closely with its German counterpart.
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The KPE is closely linked with the religious institute Servi Jesu et Mariae (SJM) of the Catholic Church.
Self image of the KPE
The KPE describes its activities as follows: "By our education according to the scouting method, we promote the development of the entire person of girls and boys. In this manner, they may become responsible, Christian personalities who develop their abilities and talents, who form their lives based on the power of Faith and take on responsibility for society and the Church."
The constitution of the KPE lists five concrete goals of its youth work:
- Physical development
- Sensitivity for the concrete and practical life and artistic talents
- Development of character and personality
- Sensitivity for charity and service for others
- Sensitivity for God and Christian education
Regarding its relationship to other youth organizations, the KPE “works for friendly and brotherly relations with other organizations, groups and movements of Christian and non-Christian Scouting movement in order to establish together a just and fraternal society in the spirit of Baden-Powell in accordance with his original pedagogical concept.”
History
The KPE was founded on February 15, 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, late Superior General of the SJM, and Günther Walter were both instrumental in the KPE's founding.
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.
Some local groups left the KPE in 1986 because of its rigid structure and founded a new Scouting organization, the Europapfadfinder Sankt Michael.
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 lay organization by the Holy See in 2003.
In 1994, the Südwestfunk broadcast 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. Despite this decision the KPE was heavily attacked by the press after each broadcast of the movie.
After press reports on the KPE membership of one superior of the seminary in St. Pölten during the St. Pölten pornography scandal the Conference of the German Bishops reiterated that the KPE is not recognized by the Bund der Deutschen Katholischen Jugend, the union of recognised Catholic youth organizations in Germany. The statement was interpreted by a German TV magazine as an official disassociation.
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.