Benedictus Prize awarded and presentation of the anthology on July 13th in the Benedictine monastery in Lambach

On Thursday, July 13, 2023, not only the second Benedictus Prize was awarded in the summer refectory of the Benedictine monastery in Lambach, but also the first presentation of the anthology “Unternehmen Organisationen und Werte: Ein Diskurs aus betriebswirtschaftlicher, theologischer und religionswissenschaftlicher Perspektive”.

 

[Translate to Englisch:] Gruppenfoto Herausgeber*innen

After a welcome by Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Birgit Feldbauer-Durstmüller, Head of the Institute of Management Control and Consulting at the Johannes Kepler University Linz, and Abbot MMag. Maximilian Neulinger OSB, the anthology was first presented to the numerous visitors. The publication is a cooperation project between the Institute of Management Control and Consulting and the Center for Intercultural Theology and Study of Religions at the Paris Lodron University in Salzburg, which was published as part of the “Salzburger interdisziplinäre Diskurse” series by Verlag Peter Lang. From the four-strong editorial team, Prof. Feldbauer-Durstmüller first took the floor by explaining the genesis of the work from the first ideas to the final conception. Afterwards Univ.-Prof. DDr. Franz Gmainer-Pranzl, Head of the Center for Intercultural Theology and the Study of Religions, particularly emphasized the achievements of the individual employees involved. Finally, Mag. Sarah Pieslinger, BA, B.Rel.Ed.Univ., MA and Mag. Julia Feldbauer, B.Ed.Univ., scientific employees of both the Linz and Salzburg publishing institutes, presented the individual focal points to the guests of the anthology closer.

The second part of the evening was devoted to the awarding of the Benedictus Prize. The aim of the award was to promote scientific and pre-scientific achievements that placed particular emphasis on the topics of church and economy as well as theology with a focus on Benedictines. The prize also specifically supported young theologians. The award winners had the opportunity to present their excellent work to those present before receiving the award certificate from Bishop Dr. Manfred Scheuer with best wishes from the award jury, represented by Univ.-Prof. Feldbauer-Durstmüller and Abbot Maximilian Neulinger OSB.

MMag. Dr. Elisabeth Höftberger was awarded the main prize with the submission of her dissertation entitled "Dynamisierung kirchlicher Tradition jenseits von Bruch und Kontinuität. Eine fundamentaltheologische Theorie der Rezeption und Hermeneutik des Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzils im Kontext der Israeltheologie und des jüdisch-christlichen Dialogs".

Publications by two internationally oriented scientists who approached the Benedictine from different perspectives were also awarded. From the sociological side, the recently published book by Priv.-Doz. Dr. Isabelle Jonveaux under the title "Contemporary Monastic Economy: A Sociological Perspective across Continents" was awarded, which Priv.-Doz. Jonveaux also presented publicly for the first time at the award ceremony. Mag. Dr. Ksenia Keplinger, on the other hand, took up the economic perspective with her paper on "The balance that sustains Benedictines: family entrepreneurship across generations".

Georg Balthasar Deinhammer, a graduate of the Lambach Abbey Gymnasium, received the in the second edition of the Benedictus Prize newly introduced award for pre-scientific work. His work, which has already received the KUL prize from the Catholic private university in Linz, dealt with "Theodizee aus prozesstheologischer Sicht".