Stephan Ackermann (born March 20, 1963) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

. He was elected by the Cathedral Chapter as Bishop of Trier in the Moselle area of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 2009.

Early life

The son of Helmy and Hermann and the eldest of two children, Ackermann grew up in Nickenich. His father was a church books and souvenirs merchant and met his mother when she was working as a sales assistant in the

Maria Laach Abbey Maria Laach Abbey (in German: ''Abtei Maria Laach'', in Latin: ''Abbatia Maria Lacensis'' or ''Abbatia Maria ad Lacum'') is a Benedictine abbey situated on the southwestern shore of the Laacher See (Lake Laach), near Andernach, in the Eifel ...

gift shop. He has a sister named Bärbel and is the godfather of two of her children. Ackerman was educated at secondary school level in

Andernach Andernach () is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, of about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated towards the end of the '' Neuwied basin'' on the left bank of the Rhine between the former tiny fishing villa ...

Formation and Priesthood

He entered the Trier priest seminary at the age of 18 and studied at the Gregorian and Sankt Georgen higher education ecclesiastical schools. He was ordained a priest in 1987. From 1989 to 1991, Ackerman was a chaplain in Bad Breisig in the catholic parishes of Niederbreisig and Oberbreisig. In 1991 he returned to his seminary to be appointed chancellor for 8 years. Ackermann would then replace the newly appointed auxiliary bishop of Trier Felix Genn as the director of St. Lambert priest seminary and in 2000 he received an ecclesiastical doctorate in

church dogmatics ''Church Dogmatics'' () is the four-volume theological summa and ''magnum opus'' of Swiss Protestant theologian Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the R ...

by Jesuit Fr. Medard Kehl. His dissertation "Church as a Person" was followed by the book "In Action for the Church", a series of essays co-authored with Felix Genn in dialogue with the former Jesuit leader Johannes Günter Gerhartz. In November 2005 he received the title of monsignor by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

. The certificate was handed to him by the then Trier Bishop

Reinhard Marx Reinhard Marx (born 21 September 1953) is a German cardinal of the Catholic Church. He serves as the Archbishop of Munich and Freising. Pope Benedict XVI elevated Marx to the cardinalate in a consistory in 2010. Biography Born in Geseke, N ...

who appointed him auxiliary bishop 6 months later.

Bishop of Trier

Ackermann became Reinhard Marx's successor as Bishop of Trier in 2009. Until the ordination of

Bishop of Passau The Diocese of Passau is a Roman Catholic diocese in Germany that is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.

Child Abuse Controversy

While being the German Bishops Conference's spokesman on child abuse issues he encouraged victims of child abuse to come forward, but later neglected actively to pursue investigations or impose harsh penalties. Ackermann had to issue a public apology after failing to immediately suspend a suspected pedophile priest in 2011 yet ignored press revelations about seven other cases of priests in the bishop's diocese who are suspected of having abused minors. In January 2011, the police informed his office that a pastor from Saarbrücken, the state capital, had allegedly abused minors. According to the guidelines of the German Bishops' Conference, prompt action had to be taken in such suspected cases, and the priest in question could be suspended until the accusations have been cleared up; nevertheless, despite these guidelines, and despite his status as the Church's spokesman on abuse issues, Ackermann allowed one suspected pedophile to remain in office. The priest continued to celebrate Mass and even held a dedication ceremony for a Catholic kindergarten in the summer. In the fall, another ceremony was held to mark his 70th birthday.

Diocesan Synod

On June 29, 2012, Bishop Ackermann proclaimed a diocesan synod that was constituted on 13 and 14 December 2013. It was the first synod in the diocese of Trier for almost 50 years.

Reform of Sexual Morality

In 2014, Ackermann said that the Roman Catholic Church should reform Roman Catholic

sexual ethics Sexual ethics (also known as sex ethics or sexual morality) is a branch of philosophy that considers the ethics or morality or otherwise in sexual behavior. Sexual ethics seeks to understand, evaluate and critique interpersonal relationships and ...

Same-sex marriages Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

should be accepted and not be described as immoral

Parish Abolishment and Clergy Role reformation Plan

Bishop Ackermann has announced that the diocese will be closing almost all of its parishes, reducing 903 parishes and all relevant organizations to 35 new regional authorities. The ''parishes of the future'' will have nothing in common with the parish concept “but the name”. The new entities will include limitation to the duties of the clergy and the introduction of new duties for the laity. According to Ackermann's plan, laypeople will have the right to make decisions and lead "traditional and new worship forms" and "there'll continue to be a priest who takes overall responsibility, but tasks and duties will also be distributed by the team — so there'll be less emphasis on the clergy's leadership, and more on its priestly and pastoral functions".
National Catholic Review: Europe's church creatively rethinks as numbers plummet In 2017, Ackermann became the president of the Liturgy Commission of the German Bishop's Conference. Bishop Ackermann in 2017 also called for the abolition of nuclear weapons at the Buchel airfield.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ackermann, Stephan 1963 births Living people People from Mayen Roman Catholic bishops of Trier 21st-century German Roman Catholic bishops Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology alumni German expatriates in Italy