At the 102nd Katholikentag, the central reunion for lay catholics, from 25-28 May 2022 in Stuttgart, Germany, the Institute was also present in many ways.
Firstly, in a panel on "Fundamentalisms and Extremisms. An ecumenical challenge", which took up the theme of the 2019 Summer Seminar. In the technically perfectly equipped conference room of Stuttgart City Hall, a conversation between PD Dr Sonja Strube (Catholic lecturer and expert on the topic in Osnabrück) and the Greek Orthodox theologian Dr Georgios Vlantis (Executive Director of the Church Council of Bavaria) was moderated by Prof. Jennifer Wasmuth, the former Director of the Institute. Strube used a large number of examples, especially from the right-wing to extreme right-wing of Catholicism, and illustrative slides to show the structures of authoritarian thinking, as it presents itself not least on the internet. She also pointed out traps in dealing with such patterns, which often confirm themselves. In his impulse, Vlantis focused on the tradition-bound nature of the Orthodox Churches, which often tends to close itself off from modernity. In the very lively debate, in which the approximately 30 participants took part in a highly committed manner, the war in Ukraine also came on the fore.
On the third day, about 40 participants were taken on an "ecumenical walk" by Dr. Frank Zeeb, research assistant at the Institute: "Discovering Stuttgart as City of the Bible" was the theme - church history came alive at about seven stations in Stuttgart city center. The walkers learned many anecdotes about the history of Württemberg with the Bible, about Württemberg's special position in the history of the Reformation and the differences between the German Bible Society and the Catholic Bible Society. Many a prejudice about "the Swabians" and Pietism was literally corrected en passant. At the end of the tour there was the possibility to deepen what had been seen in a completely different way by a visit to the bibliorama, the experience-oriented Bible museum of the regional church.
Zeeb was also present as an ecumenical representative at the ACK-Polis, the German National Council of Churches’ appearance on the Kleiner Schlossplatz, a central place in the City center.