Joachim Cardinal Meisner
Encyclopedia
Joachim Meisner is a German
cardinal
of the Catholic Church. He is the current Archbishop of Cologne, serving since 1989. He previously served as Bishop of Berlin
from 1980 to 1989, and was created a cardinal in 1983. He is widely considered to be Germany's leading conservative Catholic figure.
. He studied at the seminary of Erfurt
from 1959 to 1962, and was ordained
a deacon
on 8 April 1962. On 22 December 1962, he was ordained to the priesthood
by Bishop Josef Freusberg, an auxiliary bishop
of the Diocese of Fulda
.
Between 1963 and 1975, Meisner served as chaplain at St. Giles Parish in Heiligenstadt
and Holy Cross Parish in Erfurt. He also served as diocesan director of Caritas
. During his pastoral ministry, he furthered his studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University
in Rome
, where he received his doctorate of theology in 1969.
in 1977, where he renewed a friendship with Karol Wojtyła
. After Wojtyła was elected Pope John Paul II
, he appointed Meisner Bishop of Berlin in 1980, and proclaimed him Cardinal
in the consistory of 2 February 1983, with the title Cardinal-Priest of S. Pudenziana.
In 1988 after the death of Joseph Höffner, Meisner was promoted to the position of Archbishop of Cologne, a post he continues to hold. He was one of the cardinal electors
who participated in the 2005 papal conclave
that selected Pope Benedict XVI.
Cardinal Meisner was the bishop in charge for the XX. World Youth Day in August 2005
in the archdiocese in Cologne that attracted more than one million people. As the leader of Germany's biggest and wealthiest archdiocese, the Cardinal holds a very significant moral and social position, too.
Meisner regularly travels to the Vatican to meet Pope Benedict in private.
.
He said of Pope Benedict "He [Pope Benedict] has the intelligence of 12 professors and is as pious as a child on the day of his first communion." http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/pope/benedictxvi_2.shtml
is separated from the worship
of God, cult atrophies in ritualism and culture becomes degenerate", said Meisner at the blessing of his own archdiocese's new art museum, the Kolumba
, on 14 September 2007. His choice of words recalled the phrase "entartete Kunst" ("degenerate art
") used as the title of the exhibition opened by Adolf Hitler in Munich on 19 July 1937 and provoked strong negative reaction.
It was widely recognized that Meisner was venting his anger about the stained-glass window in Cologne Cathedral
by Gerhard Richter
, which was revealed just weeks before and of which he disapproved.
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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...
cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
of the Catholic Church. He is the current Archbishop of Cologne, serving since 1989. He previously served as Bishop of Berlin
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Berlin
The Archdiocese of Berlin is a Roman Catholic archdiocese, seated in Berlin and covering the northeast of Germany.As of 2004 the archdiocese has 386,279 Catholics out of the population of Berlin, most of Brandenburg and Hither Pomerania, i. e. the German part of Pomerania...
from 1980 to 1989, and was created a cardinal in 1983. He is widely considered to be Germany's leading conservative Catholic figure.
Early life and ordination
Meisner was born in Breslau, which was then part of Germany, but is now known as Wrocław in southwestern PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. He studied at the seminary of Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
from 1959 to 1962, and was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
on 8 April 1962. On 22 December 1962, he was ordained to the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
by Bishop Josef Freusberg, an auxiliary bishop
Auxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
of the Diocese of Fulda
Roman Catholic Diocese of Fulda
The Diocese of Fulda is a diocese in the north of the German state of Hessen. It is a Suffragan Diocese of the Archdiocese of Paderborn. The bishop's seat is in Fulda Cathedral.-History:...
.
Between 1963 and 1975, Meisner served as chaplain at St. Giles Parish in Heiligenstadt
Heilbad Heiligenstadt
Heilbad Heiligenstadt is a spa town in Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Eichsfeld district.-Geography:Heiligenstadt is approximately 14 km east of the tripoint where the states of Thuringia, Hesse and Lower Saxony meet...
and Holy Cross Parish in Erfurt. He also served as diocesan director of Caritas
Caritas (charity)
Caritas Internationalis is a confederate of 164 Roman Catholic relief, development and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide....
. During his pastoral ministry, he furthered his studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University
Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University is a pontifical university located in Rome, Italy.Heir of the Roman College founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola over 460 years ago, the Gregorian University was the first university founded by the Jesuits...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, where he received his doctorate of theology in 1969.
Bishop
In 1975, he was elected titular Bishop of Vina and auxiliary bishop to the Apostolic Administrator Erfurt-Meiningen. He was elected as a delegate to the Fourth Synod of Bishops at the VaticanVatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
in 1977, where he renewed a friendship with Karol Wojtyła
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
. After Wojtyła was elected Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
, he appointed Meisner Bishop of Berlin in 1980, and proclaimed him Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
in the consistory of 2 February 1983, with the title Cardinal-Priest of S. Pudenziana.
In 1988 after the death of Joseph Höffner, Meisner was promoted to the position of Archbishop of Cologne, a post he continues to hold. He was one of the cardinal electors
Cardinal electors in Papal conclave, 2005
The following is a list of the 115 cardinal electors in the 2005 papal conclave, arranged by region and, within each region, alphabetically. Two cardinals who were eligible to participate in the conclave, namely Adolfo Suarez Rivera and Jaime Sin, did not attend due to ill health.-Roman...
who participated in the 2005 papal conclave
Papal conclave, 2005
The Papal conclave of 2005 was convened as a result of the death of Pope John Paul II on 2 April 2005. After his death, the cardinals who were in Rome met and set a date for the beginning of the conclave to elect John Paul's successor. The conclave began on 18 April 2005 and ended on the following...
that selected Pope Benedict XVI.
Cardinal Meisner was the bishop in charge for the XX. World Youth Day in August 2005
World Youth Day 2005
The 20th World Youth Day 2005 was a Catholic youth festival that started on August 16 and continued until August 21, 2005 in Cologne, Germany. It was the first World Youth Day and foreign trip of Pope Benedict XVI, who joined the festival on August 18. This meeting was decided by the previous...
in the archdiocese in Cologne that attracted more than one million people. As the leader of Germany's biggest and wealthiest archdiocese, the Cardinal holds a very significant moral and social position, too.
Meisner regularly travels to the Vatican to meet Pope Benedict in private.
Papacy and Magisterium
Meisner is known for his absolute support to the Pope in Rome and all the Church's teachings. Pope John Paul asked for Cardinal Meisner to see him when he was in the Gemelli Hospital in Rome. Meisner had a very close relationship to Pope John Paul II and is a long time friend of Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
.
He said of Pope Benedict "He [Pope Benedict] has the intelligence of 12 professors and is as pious as a child on the day of his first communion." http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/pope/benedictxvi_2.shtml
Culture and liturgy
"Wherever cultureCulture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
is separated from the worship
Worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
of God, cult atrophies in ritualism and culture becomes degenerate", said Meisner at the blessing of his own archdiocese's new art museum, the Kolumba
Kolumba
The Kolumba is an art museum in Cologne, Germany. It is located on the site of the former St. Columba church, and run by the Archdiocese of Cologne...
, on 14 September 2007. His choice of words recalled the phrase "entartete Kunst" ("degenerate art
Degenerate art
Degenerate art is the English translation of the German entartete Kunst, a term adopted by the Nazi regime in Germany to describe virtually all modern art. Such art was banned on the grounds that it was un-German or Jewish Bolshevist in nature, and those identified as degenerate artists were...
") used as the title of the exhibition opened by Adolf Hitler in Munich on 19 July 1937 and provoked strong negative reaction.
It was widely recognized that Meisner was venting his anger about the stained-glass window in Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in Cologne, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and is a World Heritage Site...
by Gerhard Richter
Gerhard Richter
Gerhard Richter is a German visual artist. Richter has simultaneously produced abstract and photorealistic painted works, as well as photographs and glass pieces, thus undermining the concept of the artist’s obligation to maintain a single cohesive style.- Biography :Gerhard Richter was born in...
, which was revealed just weeks before and of which he disapproved.
Quotation
- "We as Catholic Christians do always have a reason for hope. We shall march with a straight back and head held high, self-confident and sure of victory in our modern times. For we have one God without rival, who revealed himself in Jesus Christ …" (Radio Horeb, 12 December 2004)
External links
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