The Catholic Integrated Community (CIC) was an apostolic community within the Roman Catholic Church according to Decree Apostolicam Actuositatem No. 18/19 of the Second Vatican Council. It was recognized by the church in several dioceses in Germany, Austria, Italy and Tanzania. After an investigation of the community by the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, Munich Archbishop Cardinal Reinhard Marx dissolved it (in his diocese) under canon law in November 2020. In the meantime, most of the German dioceses followed suit and also dissolved their integrated communities.

History The beginnings of the CIC reach back to the post-World War II period.Alexander Kissler, Der deutsche Papst, Herder, Freiburg, 2005, , p. 104,Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger; Benedikt, Many religions, one covenant, Israel, the Church and the World, 1999, San Francisco, Ignatius Press, Notes, Preface Its initiators were Traudl Wallbrecher (; 18 May 192329 July 2016) and her husband, lawyer Herbert Wallbrecher. The group grew out of the Catholic youth movement.Mike Tyldesley, No heavenly delusion? Abstract: No Heavenly Delusion? analyses three movements of communal living, the Kibbutz, the Bruderhof and the Integrierte Gemeinde, all of which can trace their origins to the German Youth Movement of the first part of the twentieth century.

In 1949, Traudl Weiß married Wallbrecher, who belonged to the Catholic . With him and his friend Johannes Joachim Degenhardt, the later Cardinal and archbishop of Paderborn, she found two allies. The group oriented itself towards modern exegesis, the liturgy and ecumenical movement,Today – pro ecclesia viva, Bad Tölz 1996, p. 55 f. the Jewish roots of Christianity,Mike Tyldesley, No heavenly delusion? A comparative study of three communal movements, Liverpool University Press, Liverpool, 2003, and post-war philosophy and literature (amongst others the French existentialists).Today – pro ecclesia viva, Bad Tölz 1996, pp. 82-83

The magazine aroused the interest of agnostics like Gerhard Szczesny and theologians like Joseph Ratzinger, who supported the path of the KIG within the Catholic Church from then on. The friendship with Chaim SeeligmannChaim Seeligmann, Spuren einer stillen Revolution, Verlag Urfeld, Hagen 1998, Chaim Seeligmann, Es war nicht nur ein Traum, Verlag Urfeld, Bad Tölz, 2002, , Chapter VIII, p. 142 ff. led to the founding of the Urfelder Kreis in 1995.Joel Dorkam-Dispeker, Stacheln im Honig, Marburg 2015, Schüren, , p. 307 ff.

In 1977 the private Günter-Stöhr-Gymnasium was founded, now one of the schools of the St. Anna school network.

Since 1978, an Integrated Community in Africa has developed from her encounter with Bishop Christopher Mwoleka, Tanzania. Today members of the community there lead the Herbert Wallbrecher school in Mikese.

In 1977, the CIC was recognized as a public church association by the archbishop of Paderborn, Cardinal Johannes Joachim Degenhardt,Traudl Wallbrecher, Ludwig Weimer, Arnold Stötzel (Ed.) 30 Jahre Wegbegleitung, Joseph Ratzinger, Papst Benedikt XVI. und die Katholische Integrierte Gemeinde, Verlag Urfeld Bad Tölz 2006, , p. 36 and in the same year by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger,Traudl Wallbrecher, Ludwig Weimer, Arnold Stötzel (Ed.) 30 Jahre Wegbegleitung, Joseph Ratzinger, Papst Benedikt XVI. und die Katholische Integrierte Gemeinde, Verlag Urfeld Bad Tölz 2006, , p. 37 at that time archbishop of Munich and Freising, the later Pope Benedict XVI.

A chair called ('Chair for the Theology of the People of God') was set up at the Lateran University in Rome in 2008.Achim Buckenmaier, A poor people of God for the poor in the world? The challenge of Pope Francis, Roma 2014, Lateran University Press

In October 2016 the began offering the post-graduate distance learning module "The Profile of the Jewish Christian". The course is offered in German and English.

Mission and organization In its statutes of 1978 the CIC describes its work as an attempt "in a world estranged from the church to make the gospel present in such a way that those whose path has led them away from church can again find new access to the faith of the Catholic Church. Their members are connecting their lives in all areas in a variety of ways and take joint initiatives – self-dependent and self-financed."

The CIC is subordinated to the local bishop in whose diocese it is active.Andreas Martin, Die geistlichen Gemeinschaften der Katholischen Kirche, Leipzig 2006, Verlag Benno, , In its list of groups and associations of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pontifical Council for the Laity mentions the lay movement as an association of believers.Council for the Laity: International Associations of the Faithful (Directory)

The CIC includes familiesHeide Stöhr-Zehetbauer und Christl Keller, Rund um die Erstkommunion, Ein Familienbuch, Neue Stadt, Oberpframmern, 2016, and unmarried persons, laymen and priests, who form table communities and also live in residential communities. According to their self-conception and practice, everyone is "responsible for their livelihood, for their profession, financial circumstances and property, as well as provisions for old age and illness."Peter Zitta: "Finding and regaining", in: Theologica No. 3, English Edition, Baierbrunn 2016, p. 19 According to the statutes, the general assembly is the responsible committee. It also elects the leadership team and the head of the leadership team, who must be confirmed by the bishop.

Initiatives Initiatives pursued by people associated with the CIC are, amongst others: St. Anna Association of Schools Academic chair for the Theology of the People of God at the Papal Lateran University in Rome Distance learning "Theology of the People of God – The Jewish-Christian Profile" Professor Ludwig Weimer Foundation

People Traudl Wallbrecher (1923–2016) and Herbert Wallbrecher (1922–1997) Ludwig Weimer (born 1940), theologian and priestGerhard Lohfink, Ludwig Weimer, Maria – nicht ohne Israel, Eine neue Sicht der Lehre von der unbefleckten Empängnis, Herder, Freiburg und Wien, 2012, Ludwig Weimer, Die Lust an Gott und seiner Sache, Oder lassen sich Gnade u. Freiheit, Glaube u. Vernunft, Erlösung u. Befreiung vereinbaren?, Herder, Freiburg, 1982, Ludwig Weimer, Achim Buckenmaier, Arnold Stötzel, Die 7 Zeichen des Messias, Regensburg, Pustet, 2012, Achim Buckenmaier (born 1959), theologian and priestAchim Buckenmaier, "Schrift und Tradition" seit dem Vatikanum II, Paderborn, Bonifatius, 1996, Achim Buckenmaier, Der gerettete Anfang, Schrift und Tradition in Israel und der Kirche, Verlag Urfeld, Bad Tölz, 2002, Achim Buckenmaier, Abraham, Vater der Gläubigen; eine Glaubensbiographie, St. Ulrich Verlag, Augsburg, 2003, Achim Buckenmaier, Moses, Geschichte einer Rettung, St. Ulrich Verlag, Augsburg, 2005, Achim Buckenmaier, Ist das noch unsere Kirche? Die Zukunft der christlichen Gemeinde, Pustet, Regensburg, 2012, Achim Buckenmaier, Lehramt der Bischofskonferenzen? Anregungen für eine Revision, Pustet, Regensburg, 2016, Michael P. Maier (born 1961), theologian and priest Lift Up your Eyes and Look Around!: Point of View in Isaiah 60, Biblische Notizen 169 (2016), p. 47 – 57Review: L.S. Tiemeyer, Zechariah and his Visions. An Exegetical Study of Zechariah's Vision Report, Gegorianum 97 (2016) p. 174 – 176 Rudolf Pesch (1936–2011), theologian and historianRudolf Pesch, The Trial of Jesus continues, Pickwick Publications, 1996, Allison Park, Rudolf Pesch, Juden und Christen – ein einziges Volk Gottes? Patmos Verlag, Düsseldorf 2009, Rudolf Pesch, Antisemitismus in der Bibel? Das Johannesevangelium auf dem Prüfstand, St. Ulrich Verlag, Augsburg, 2005, Rudolf Pesch, Die matthäischen Weihnachtsgeschichten, Die Magier aus dem Osten, König Herodes und der bethlehemitsche Kindermord; Mt 2 neu übersetzt und ausgelegt, Bonifatius, Paderobrn, 2009, Rudolf Pesch, Gott ist gegenwärtig, Die Versammlung des Volkes Gottes in Synagoge und Kirche, St. Ulrich Verlag, Augsburg 2006, Pope emeritus. Benedikt XVI. (1927–2022), friend and patron Norbert Lohfink (1928–2024), theologian and priestNorbert Lohfink, Qoheleth, Fortress Press, Minneapolis, 2003, Norbert Lohfink, The Covenant never revoked, Paulist Press, New York, 1991, Norbert Lohfink and Erich Zenger, The God of Israel and the nations, Studies in Isaiah and the Psalms, Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minn., 2000, Norbert Lohfink, Church Dreams, Talking against the trend, Bibal Press, North Richland Hills, Tex, 2000, Gerhard Lohfink (1934–2024), theologian and priestDavid L. Balch, Gerhard Lohfink, John R. Galvin, Jesus and Community, The Social Dimension of Christian Faith, Journal of Biblical Literature, 1987, , p. 715Gerhard Lohfink, The Bible: now I get it! A form-criticism handbook, Doubleday, 1979, Garden City, N.Y., Gerhard Lohfink, The work of God goes on, The Bible for Christian Life, Fortress Press, Philadelphia, 1987, Gerhard Lohfink, Does God need the Church? Toward a Theology of the People of God, Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 2014, ,Review by James Martin, Daniel J. Harrington SJ: 'Lohfink's Jesus of Nazareth is the best Jesus book I know.'Gerhard Lohfink and Malina J. Bruce, The conversion of St. Paul: Narrative and History in Acts, Chicago 1976, Franciscan Herald Press, Death is not the final word, Chicago 1977, Franciscan Herald Press, Is This All There Is? On Resurrection and Eternal Life, Collegeville, Minnesota 2018. Rudolf Kutschera (born 1960), theologian and priest

References

Catholic Integrated Community (Ed.) Theologica No. 3 – Englisch Edition: 'Teologa' del popolo di Dio. Gertraud Wallbrecher (1923–2016), Baierbrunn 2016, Andreas Martin (Ed.): Die geistlichen Gemeinschaften der katholischen Kirche – Kompendium, St. Benno Verlag, Leipzig 2006, Arnold Stötzel (Ed.): Monatszeitschrift Heute in Kirche und Welt – Blätter zur Unterscheidung des Christlichen (2000–2008) Traudl Wallbrecher, Ludwig Weimer, Arnold Stötzel (Ed.): 30 Jahre Wegbegleitung. Joseph Ratzinger / Papst Benedikt XVI. und die Katholische Integrierte Gemeinde, Verlag Urfeld, Bad Tölz 2006, Traudl Wallbrecher, Ludwig Weimer (Ed.): Katholische Integrierte Gemeinde. Eine Kurzdarstellung, Verlag Urfeld, Bad Tölz 2005, Mike Tyldesley: No Heavenly Delusion?: A Comparative Study of Three Communal Movements, Liverpool 2003, Traudl Wallbrecher a. o. (Ed.): Heute – pro ecclesia viva, Verlag Urfeld, Bad Tölz 1994, Traudl Wallbrecher (Ed.): Die Integrierte Gemeinde. Beiträge zur Reform der Kirche, 18 Bände, Verlag Urfeld, München (1969–1976)

External links St. Anna Association of Schools International Associations of the Faithful: Catholic Integrated Community Professor Ludwig Weimer Foundation