PITY

Franz Schuh in conversation with Maria Katharina Moser

PITY
A plea for an outmoded feeling

The title and idea for this event came from a book by the theologian Alfred Holl. Ordained as a priest in 1954, his texts brought him into conflict with the Catholic Church; he was suspended from the priesthood in 1976. He lived as a writer and freelance journalist in Vienna, where he died in 2020. Residenzverlag has been publishing an edition of his writings since 2021, edited by Walter Famler and Harald Klauhs. Holl's book „Mitleid im Winter“ is currently being published with a foreword by Franz Schuh.

„Adolf Holl was once a chaplain and then one of the moderators of the blessed Club 2, but above all he was one of Austria's great writers, even if this was least recognised. This has been less noticed because his books had religious themes, although Holl's depictions went beyond religious limitations. His book „Compassion in Winter“ is a literary masterpiece, but it is also responsible for so-called „factual questions“. The basic question could be formulated as follows: Pity is a feeling that one cannot resist, but quite often must resist. There is no simple “unanimity" between the necessary self-care and concern for others. (Franz Schuh)

In his book „Hilfe. An attempt at kindness“, Schuh argued along similar lines: The bureaucratisation of help, its legal and organised anchoring in society, is more reliable than the naturally fluctuating feeling of compassion, without which, however, help - however well organised - could not exist.

Dr Maria Katherina Moser will talk about the characteristic ambivalences of compassion. She is the director of Diakonie, so she has a practical background and, as a theologian and pastor, is equally well versed in theory.

Maria Katharina Moser is a Protestant pastor, social ethicist and has been Director of Diakonie Austria since September 2018. She studied theology in Vienna and intercultural women's studies in Manila. After gaining work experience in youth work, adult education and at university, she worked as an editor in the Religion TV department at ORF from 2007 to 2014. She then took the step into the parish ministry: she was first a vicar and then a pastor in the Evangelical Parish A.B. Vienna-Simmering and academic advisor at the Institute for Public Theology and Ethics of the Diakonie.

Franz Schuh studied philosophy, history and German language and literature. He is a writer, lecturer at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and a columnist for magazines and radio stations. His awards include the Leipzig Book Fair Prize in 2006, the Austrian Art Prize in 2011 and the Johann Heinrich Merck Prize for Literary Criticism and Essay in 2021. His most recent books published by Zsolnay are „Lachen und Sterben“ (2021) and „Ein Mann ohne Beschwerden“ (2023).