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Center for the Ethical Education of the Armed Forces starts working

Catholic military bishop Mixa inaugurates Center for the Ethical Education (Source: KMBA/Josef König)

Hamburg, 12.April 2010, Josef König.
In a festive ceremonial act at the ‘Haus der Kirchlichen Dienste’ of the city of Hamburg, the Catholic military bishop, Dr. Walter Mixa, inaugurated the Center for the Ethical Education of Armed Forces, which was founded on 1 March 2010.

Dr. Walter Mixa handed a certificate of appointment to the new director of the Center, Dr. Veronika Bock. The ceremonial act was attended by Inspector General (ret’d) Wolfgang Schneiderhahn, the commander of the German Federal Army Academy (FüAK), Major General Robert Bergmann, the commander of the Center for Inner Leadership in Koblenz, Brigadier Alois Bach, and the bishop of the archbishopric Hamburg, Bishop Norbert Werbs. The director of the Institute for Theology and Peace, PD Dr. Heinz Gerhard Justenhoven, hosted the event.

During the inauguration, which was musically accompanied by the Hamburg Brass Ensemble ‘Elbebrass’, the Catholic military bishop stated that the original idea to found the Center for the Ethical Education of Armed Forces was directly linked to the need to revise the Central Regulation concerning the teachings of ethics (Lebenskunde) and was thus taken into consideration by himself and Inspector General (ret’d) Schneiderhahn.

Due to the ever-increasing importance of ethics within the armed forces, the military pastors bear a special responsibility. According to Dr. Mixa, they make a significant contribution to the compulsorary professional qualification in ethics. It is now the task of the Center for the Ethical Education of the Armed Forces to support and qualify military pastors.

Bishop Mixa reminded his audience of the Declaration of German Bishops, who in 2005 – under the Leitmotif of ‘the soldier as a servant of the peace’ – pointed out that the concept of inner leadership had been widely contested. Dr. Mixa added: ‘Especially the growing importance of foreign deployments and the demand for interoperability within multinational missions bear the risk of a relativisation of the concept of inner leadership.’ This entails significant consequences for an education in ethics, which, according to Mixa, represents ‘more than a cognitive process, for it contributes to the the development of conscience and the adoption of a practical value system.’

The auxiliary bishop Norbert Werbs stressed the responsibility of the Church towards the Catholic military pastoral care and towards the Center for the Ethical Education of Armed Forces, which is located in Germany’s geografically largest diocese.

The head of studies of the Helmut-Schmidt University Hamburg, Colonel Dr. Uwe Hartmann, filled in for the speaker of the 13. advisory board for questions concerning inner leadership, Dr. Rainer Pommering. Mr Hartmann stated that young uniformed citizens grow up in a social milieu ‘in which individual action is often not inspired by ethical principles and where religious education and values do not play a significant role, especially in East Germany.’

The commander of the German Federal Army Academy, Major General Robert Bergmann, promised to engage in ‘intensive cooperation’ with the Center for the Ethical Education of Armed Forces, especially in Hamburg. He reminded his audience of the question concerning the ethical tenabiliy of Germany’s defense system, founded upon the existence of nuclear weapons at the junction of East and West.

In conclusion of the ceremonial act, the new director of the Center for the Ethical Education of Armed Forces, Dr. Veronika Bock, focused on the fundamental and programatic perspectives of the Center. According to her, the guiding principles for the work of the Center will be universal human rights standards, which are inalienable and indivisible.

The Center for the Ethical Education of Armed Forces (zebis) wants to put a stronger emphasis on ethical contemplations

An interview with Dr. Veronika Bock, published in Kompass 2/10

Kompass: The Catholic military bishop for the German Armed Forces, Dr. Walter Mixa, has designated you as the director of the Center for the Ethical Education of Armed Foces (ZEBIS). Why has such an institution been founded now? Can the German Army not manage on its own? Veronika Bock: Soldiers often find themselves in morally challenging conflict situations when they are deployed abroad. In this context, Christian social ethics with its principles and criteria can support and guide them. The question isn’t whether the German Army can or can’t manage on its own. We need to ask ourselves what we – as a pastoral care instution - can contribute to the ethical education of soldiers.

Through its integration into the Catholic Institute for Theology and Peace with its emphasis on peace ethics and its cooperation with the department of Catholic theology at the Helmut-Schmidt-University as well as the Federal German Army Academy, the new Center is part of a vast platform of knowledge. I have in-depth knowledge of the ethical questions [...]