Robert Zollitsch
Encyclopedia
Robert Zollitsch is a German
prelate
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He currently serves as Archbishop of Freiburg im Breisgau and Chairman of the German Episcopal Conference
.
, Yugoslavia
(modern-day Serbia
), to an ethnic German family of Danube Swabians
who moved to Tauberbischofsheim
in 1946 after being violently expelled
from communist Yugoslavia following World War II
. His 16 year old brother was murdered in 1945, after the end of the war, during summary execution massacres by Yugoslav partisans of Josip Broz Tito
. Robert Zollitsch, after being educated in several schools, became a member of the Schoenstatt Institute of Diocesan Priests
in 1964, and was ordained
to the priesthood
by Archbishop Hermann Schäufele
on 27 May 1965, in the Cathedral of Freiburg im Breisgau
Zollitsch was elected to the general council
of the Schoenstatt Institute in both 1974 and 1980. In 1983, he was named archdiocesan
personnel manager for Freiburg im Breisgau. He became a member of the cathedral
chapter
in 1984 as well.
On 16 June 2003, Zollitsch was appointed Archbishop of Freiburg im Breisgau by Pope John Paul II
. He received his episcopal consecration
on the following 20 July from Archbishop Oskar Saier, with Cardinal Karl Lehmann and Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo
serving as co-consecrators
. As Archbishop, he leads the second-largest diocese
in Germany.
Zollitsch was later elected to succeed Cardinal Lehmann as the Chairman of the German Episcopal Conference
, and thus spokesman for the German Church
, on 12 February 2008. His election was welcomed by many German figures and groups, including Chancellor Angela Merkel
, Lutherans
, Social Democrats
, and Christian Democrats
.
The Archbishop formerly sat on the Permanent Council and the Commission for Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Laity within the same episcopal conference
.
in his convictions, and has described himself as being "theologically
and personally" close to Cardinal Lehmann.
Zollitsch accepts civil union
s by states but is against the term "gay marriage".
In 2009, he said in a statement he was working towards damage control in the wake of the controversy over negationist comments made by SSPX bishop Richard Williamson.
In an interview with a German television station, he answered a question about the sacrificial nature of Christ's death in the negative, preferring the expression “Christ has solidarised himself with the people unto his very end”. This appears in a way as a contradiction of Christian teaching. The statement however was rather an exaggerated trial to rebuke the misconception of God having needed such a sacrifice, and a way of expounding in what language he would preach about this topic. This led to a warning against falling into formal heresy
by Franz Schmidberger
, district superior of the non-canoncic SSPX
. In a later circular over the diocesan homepage, he did acknowledge that the Church does, and does legitimately, "even" attribute the Redemption to Christ's Death.
Similar allegations then emerged at other Catholic schools and institutions in Germany, including a Benedictine monastery and several boarding schools. German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger
condemned the "wall of silence" within the Catholic hierarchy, accusing the church of hiding behind a 2001 Vatican directive that called for cases of abuse to be investigated internally before going to state authorities. "This directive makes clear that even serious abuse allegations fall under papal confidentiality and thus should not be forwarded on outside the church," she said. In this she was misinforming, since the papal confidentiality only applies to matters of the seal of the confessional. That the Church did not then - this policy has changed - forward allegations to the public investigators was not due to that decree, but for leaving the matter to the victims; German public law does not demand the crimes in question to be reported.
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...
prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He currently serves as Archbishop of Freiburg im Breisgau and Chairman of the German Episcopal Conference
Conference of the German Bishops
The German Bishops' Conference is the episcopal conference of the bishops of the Roman Catholic dioceses in Germany. Members include diocesan bishops, coadjutors, auxiliary bishops, and diocesan administrators....
.
Life and work
Zollitsch was born in Philipsdorf/FilipovoBacki Gracac
Bački Gračac is a village located in the Odžaci municipality, in the West Bačka District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The population of the village is 2,913 people , of whom 2,810 are ethnic Serbs.-Name:Old Serbian name of the village was Filipovo...
, Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
(modern-day Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
), to an ethnic German family of Danube Swabians
Danube Swabians
The Danube Swabians is a collective term for the German-speaking population who lived in the former Kingdom of Hungary, especially alongside the Danube River valley. Because of different developments within the territory settled, the Danube Swabians cannot be seen as a unified people...
who moved to Tauberbischofsheim
Tauberbischofsheim
Tauberbischofsheim is a German town in the north-east of Baden-Württemberg on the river Tauber with a population of about 13,000. It is the capital of the Main-Tauber district....
in 1946 after being violently expelled
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
The later stages of World War II, and the period after the end of that war, saw the forced migration of millions of German nationals and ethnic Germans from various European states and territories, mostly into the areas which would become post-war Germany and post-war Austria...
from communist Yugoslavia following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. His 16 year old brother was murdered in 1945, after the end of the war, during summary execution massacres by Yugoslav partisans of Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
. Robert Zollitsch, after being educated in several schools, became a member of the Schoenstatt Institute of Diocesan Priests
Schoenstatt Movement
The Apostolic Movement of Schoenstatt is a Roman Catholic Marian Movement founded in Germany in 1914 by Father Joseph Kentenich. Fr. Kentenich saw the movement as being a means of spiritual renewal in the Catholic Church...
in 1964, 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....
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 Archbishop Hermann Schäufele
Hermann Schäufele
Hermann Schäufele was theArchbishop of Freiburg from 1958–1977, appointed by Pope Pius XII. He participated in the Vatican Council II....
on 27 May 1965, in the Cathedral of Freiburg im Breisgau
Freiburg Münster
Freiburg Minster is the cathedral of Freiburg, southwest Germany. The last duke of Zähringen had started the building around 1200 in romanesque style, the construction continued in 1230 in Gothic style. The minster was partly built on the foundations of an original church that had been there from...
Zollitsch was elected to the general council
General council
General council may refer to:In education:* General Council , an advisory body to each of the ancient universities of Scotland...
of the Schoenstatt Institute in both 1974 and 1980. In 1983, he was named archdiocesan
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
personnel manager for Freiburg im Breisgau. He became a member of the cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
chapter
Chapter (religion)
Chapter designates certain corporate ecclesiastical bodies in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Nordic Lutheran churches....
in 1984 as well.
On 16 June 2003, Zollitsch was appointed Archbishop of Freiburg im Breisgau by 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 received his episcopal consecration
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on the following 20 July from Archbishop Oskar Saier, with Cardinal Karl Lehmann and Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo
Giovanni Lajolo
Giovanni Lajolo is the Cardinal emeritus President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and emeritus President of the Governorate of Vatican City State.-Early life and ordination:...
serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
. As Archbishop, he leads the second-largest diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
in Germany.
Zollitsch was later elected to succeed Cardinal Lehmann as the Chairman of the German Episcopal Conference
Conference of the German Bishops
The German Bishops' Conference is the episcopal conference of the bishops of the Roman Catholic dioceses in Germany. Members include diocesan bishops, coadjutors, auxiliary bishops, and diocesan administrators....
, and thus spokesman for the German Church
Roman Catholicism in Germany
The German Catholic Church, part of the worldwide Catholic Church, is under the leadership of the Pope, curia in Rome, and the German bishops. The current president of the conference is Robert Zollitsch, the archbishop to Freiburg, the country's second largest diocese with 2.07 million Catholics...
, on 12 February 2008. His election was welcomed by many German figures and groups, including Chancellor Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
, Lutherans
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
, Social Democrats
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
, and Christian Democrats
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
.
The Archbishop formerly sat on the Permanent Council and the Commission for Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Laity within the same episcopal conference
Episcopal Conference
In the Roman Catholic Church, an Episcopal Conference, Conference of Bishops, or National Conference of Bishops is an official assembly of all the bishops of a given territory...
.
Views and positions
Zollitsch is considered to be a liberalLiberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
in his convictions, and has described himself as being "theologically
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and personally" close to Cardinal Lehmann.
Zollitsch accepts civil union
Civil union
A civil union, also referred to as a civil partnership, is a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in many developed countries in order to provide same-sex couples rights,...
s by states but is against the term "gay marriage".
In 2009, he said in a statement he was working towards damage control in the wake of the controversy over negationist comments made by SSPX bishop Richard Williamson.
In an interview with a German television station, he answered a question about the sacrificial nature of Christ's death in the negative, preferring the expression “Christ has solidarised himself with the people unto his very end”. This appears in a way as a contradiction of Christian teaching. The statement however was rather an exaggerated trial to rebuke the misconception of God having needed such a sacrifice, and a way of expounding in what language he would preach about this topic. This led to a warning against falling into formal heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
by Franz Schmidberger
Franz Schmidberger
Franz Schmidberger is a priest of the Society of St. Pius X, founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre....
, district superior of the non-canoncic SSPX
SSPX
SSPX may refer to:* Society of St. Pius X* Sustained Spheromak Physics Experiment...
. In a later circular over the diocesan homepage, he did acknowledge that the Church does, and does legitimately, "even" attribute the Redemption to Christ's Death.
2010 meeting with Pope Benedict
Archbishop Zollitsch as head of the German Bishops' Conference, met with the Pope Benedict on Friday 12 March 2010 to further discuss the widening sexual abuse scandal in Germany since January, when former students at Berlin's élite Jesuit high school, Canisius College, went public with accusations against two former priests.Similar allegations then emerged at other Catholic schools and institutions in Germany, including a Benedictine monastery and several boarding schools. German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger
Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger
Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger is a German politician of the pro-business Free Democratic Party. Within the FDP, she is a leading figure of the small social-liberal wing...
condemned the "wall of silence" within the Catholic hierarchy, accusing the church of hiding behind a 2001 Vatican directive that called for cases of abuse to be investigated internally before going to state authorities. "This directive makes clear that even serious abuse allegations fall under papal confidentiality and thus should not be forwarded on outside the church," she said. In this she was misinforming, since the papal confidentiality only applies to matters of the seal of the confessional. That the Church did not then - this policy has changed - forward allegations to the public investigators was not due to that decree, but for leaving the matter to the victims; German public law does not demand the crimes in question to be reported.