Bernhard Häring
Encyclopedia
Bernhard Häring was German Roman Catholic theologian, and a Redemptorist priest.
in Germany
to a peasant
family. At the age of 12, he entered the seminary
. Later, he took vows as a Redemptorist, was ordained a priest, and sent as a missionary to Brazil. He studied moral theology in obedience to his superiors.
During World War II, he was conscripted by the German army and served as a medic. Although forbidden from performing priestly functions by the Nazi authorities, he brought the sacraments to Catholic soldiers.
In 1954, he came to fame as a moral theologian with his three volumed, The Law of Christ. The work received ecclesiatical approval but was written in a style different from the Manual Tradition. It was translated into more than 12 languages.
Between 1949 and 1987, he taught Moral theology
on Accademia Alfonsiana in Rome.
He served as a peritus at the Second Vatican Council
from 1962 to 1965, and was on the mixed commission which prepared the pastoral constitution, Gaudium et Spes.
Häring taught at various universities including the University of San Francisco, Fordham, Yale, Brown, Temple, and the Kennedy Institute for Bioethics at Georgetown.
A prolific writer, Häring produced about 80 books and 1,000 articles.
He died of a stroke at the age of 85 at Gars am Inn, Germany.
Humanae Vitae
, Häring established himself as a dissenting theologian.
He developed the notion of fundamental option which although popular among revisionists, was a departure from traditional Catholic teaching on the morality of human acts. Häring's explanation of the notion was definitively rejected by the Magisterium in Pope John Paul II's encyclical Veritatis Splendor.
Life
Häring was born at BöttingenBöttingen
Böttingen is a municipality in the district of Tuttlingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. In recent decades it has developed from an agricultural village to an advanced industrial community.-Geography:...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to a peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
family. At the age of 12, he entered the seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
. Later, he took vows as a Redemptorist, was ordained a priest, and sent as a missionary to Brazil. He studied moral theology in obedience to his superiors.
During World War II, he was conscripted by the German army and served as a medic. Although forbidden from performing priestly functions by the Nazi authorities, he brought the sacraments to Catholic soldiers.
In 1954, he came to fame as a moral theologian with his three volumed, The Law of Christ. The work received ecclesiatical approval but was written in a style different from the Manual Tradition. It was translated into more than 12 languages.
Between 1949 and 1987, he taught Moral theology
Moral theology
Moral theology is a systematic theological treatment of Christian ethics. It is usually taught on Divinity faculties as a part of the basic curriculum.- External links :*...
on Accademia Alfonsiana in Rome.
He served as a peritus at the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
from 1962 to 1965, and was on the mixed commission which prepared the pastoral constitution, Gaudium et Spes.
Häring taught at various universities including the University of San Francisco, Fordham, Yale, Brown, Temple, and the Kennedy Institute for Bioethics at Georgetown.
A prolific writer, Häring produced about 80 books and 1,000 articles.
He died of a stroke at the age of 85 at Gars am Inn, Germany.
Dissent
Although he had once upheld Church teaching with regard to sinfulness of contraception, after Pope Paul VI issued the 1968 encyclicalEncyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Catholic Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop...
Humanae Vitae
Humanae Vitae
Humanae Vitae is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and issued on 25 July 1968. Subtitled On the Regulation of Birth, it re-affirms the traditional teaching of the Catholic Church regarding married love, responsible parenthood, and the continuing proscription of most forms of birth...
, Häring established himself as a dissenting theologian.
He developed the notion of fundamental option which although popular among revisionists, was a departure from traditional Catholic teaching on the morality of human acts. Häring's explanation of the notion was definitively rejected by the Magisterium in Pope John Paul II's encyclical Veritatis Splendor.
Dialogic leitmotif in Catholic moral theology
Bernard Häring, presents a dialogic approach to Catholic moral theology in Free and Faithful in Christ and The Law of Christ. In this approach, morality follows the pattern of faith i.e. a dialogue. This approach to morality rests on the freedom of the person's conscience that acknowledges God as basis of value. "God speaks in many ways to awaken, deepen and strengthen faith, hope, love and the spirit of adoration. We are believers to the extent that, in all of reality and in all events that touch us, we perceive a gift and a call from God."Works
- Blessed Are the Pure in Heart : The Beatitudes
- The Christ : God-With-Us
- The Christian Existentialist
- Church on the Move
- Dare to Be Christian : Developing a Social Conscience
- Discovering God's Mercy : Confession Helps for Today's Catholic
- Embattled Witness : Memories of a Time of War
- The Ethics of Manipulation
- The Eucharist and Our Everyday Life
- The Law of Christ ( 3 Vols.)
- Shalom, Peace
- Free and Faithful in Christ ( 3 Vols.)