Heinrich Pesch House

Heinrich Pesch House
Catholic Academy Rhein-Neckar

Abbreviation	HPH
Location	Ludwigshafen, Germany
Region served	Rhein-Neckar Triangle
Director	Rev. Johann Spermann, SJ
Main organ	inpuncto
Affiliations	Jesuit, Catholic
Website	PeschAcademy

Heinrich Pesch House, Catholic Academy Rhine-Neckar (HPH), in Ludwigshafen, Germany, is a Jesuit-run center for applied ethics and social practice which offers lectures, seminars, workshops, and conferences. As a conference center its facilities include 18 seminar rooms with modern media technology, a 120-seat conference room, and a 400-seat auditorium. It's 76 rooms are available to the general public when not being used for conferences, as a means of maintaining the center.^[1]

The Heinrich Pesch Foundation was founded in 2013 to support the center and some specific programs.^[2] A non-profit organization, HPH is supported by the Diocese of Speyer, the Jesuit Order, and the Catholic community of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim.^[3]

Heinrich Pesch was a nineteenth-century Jesuit whose economic theory had a major impact on Rerum Novarum, which was the first in a series of Catholic social encyclicals.^[4][5][6]

Programs

Religion and spirituality

The Mysticism as a Way of Life series at Pesch helps put people in contact with the spiritual dimension of their nature.^[7] The series also covers topics like the Church as an institution in change, offers seminars on the Bible, and hosts inter-religious dialogue.^[8] The Christian-Islamic Circle is an opportunity for encounter and for discussion of current theological, spiritual, and social questions.^[1] HPH also partners with the Protestant Academy of the Palatinate.^[9]

Ethics in business and society

HPH in continuity with the work of Heinrich Pesch seeks to create a more humane society by addressing topics on economics and society.^[10] For instance, Pesch House hosted an ecumenical conference on topics such as global justice and sustainability.^[11] It is also listed as a center for the social counseling and integration of migrants.^[12]

Employee representation

Pesch House offers courses for labor leaders and employee representatives in the southwest of Germany. Topics covered include rights and obligations, effective practices, labor law, and collective bargaining. Special sessions are scheduled on topics like bullying, communication, stress, and mediation.^[1] One conference focused on the church's treatment of employees.^[13]

Family formation

Families are offered guidance for all life's stages and situations through educational offerings^[14] and through information on the center's website.^[15] One offering, in conjunction with the Bishops' Foundation for Mother Child, was an exhibition and panel discussion on living with a handicapped child, employing research studies on its impact on parents and on society.^[16] Another program was for women in cooperation with Women and Culture.^[17] For its presentations on the life experiences of boys, fathers, and grandfathers, HPH devised and conducted a survey of grandfathers, fathers, and sons, and collated the findings.^[18] It also sponsors programs for children, youth, and adults on celebration of the liturgy.^[19] And the Catholic Youth Center has its offices at HPH,^[20] where awards ceremonies are also held.^[21]

Health Care

The ZEFOG Center for Ethics, Leadership and Organization Development in Health Care is run by the Pesch House; it covers issues like ethics, personnel and organization development, and case counseling.^[22] Children of priests have been advocating for the HPH to take up their cause.^[23]

Center for Ignatian Pedagogy

The Center teaches Ignatian pedagogy^[24] and develops evaluation tools to improve quality in teaching.^[10] In addition to schools supported by the Jesuit order, all other interested institutions are welcome.^[1] Additionally, HPH supplies staff to assist in the reflection component of student insertion experiences.^[25]

References

Coordinates: 49°29′4.96″N 8°24′39.64″E / 49.4847111°N 8.4110111°E / 49.4847111; 8.4110111