Karl Lehmann (16 May 1936 – 11 March 2018) was a German

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

and

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

of the

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. He served as Bishop of Mainz from 1983 to 2016, being elevated to the cardinalate in 2001. He served as chairman of the Conference of the German Bishops from 1987 to 2008, being considered one of the most influential prelates in Germany in those years and a leading proponent of liberal stances within the Church. Before he became a bishop, he worked as

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the

University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz () is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany. It has been named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. it had approximately 32,000 students enrolled in around 100 a ...

and the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

Early years, education and career as theological scholar

Lehmann was born in Sigmaringen and grew up in Veringenstadt. His father was a local teacher and his mother educated as a bookseller.Wichtige Stationen im Leben von Kardinal Lehmann
Schwaebische.de. Retrieved 11 March 2018 During his high school years, he lived in the Catholic student home in Sigmaringen.
An archive from www.bistummainz.de. Retrieved 11 March 2018 He studied at the Seminary of Freiburg 1957–1964
college of Cardinals, biographical notes and then at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

where he earned a doctorate in philosophy, in 1962, with a thesis titled ''Vom Ursprung und Sinn der Seinsfrage im Denken Martin Heideggers''. He also received a doctorate in theology in 1967, with a thesis titled ''"Auferweckt am dritten Tag nach der Schrift"—Exegetische und fundamentaltheologische Studien zu 1 Kor 15, 3b-5''. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood on 10 October 1963 in Rome by Cardinal

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. During the

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from 1962 to 1965, he served as an assistant to

Karl Rahner Karl Rahner (5 March 1904 – 30 March 1984) was a German Jesuits, Jesuit priest and theologian who, alongside Henri de Lubac, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Yves Congar, is considered to be one of the most influential Catholic theology, Cat ...

, and he was also assistant to Rahner at the Seminar for Christian worldview and

philosophy of religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known Text (literary theo ...

at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

from 1964 to 1967. In 1968 he became professor of dogmatic theology at the

, a position he held until 1971 when he became professor of dogmatic and ecumenical theology at the

. He was for ten years, from 1974 to 1984, a member of the

International Theological Commission The International Theological Commission (ITC) is a body of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church; it advises the magisterium of the church, particularly the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), a dicastery of the Roman Curia. Its m ...

Bishop and cardinal

When he was appointed Bishop of Mainz in 1983 at the age of 47 he was the youngest Catholic bishop ever appointed in Germany. After being elected deputy chairman of the Episcopal Conference of Germany in 1985, he was elected chairman of the conference in 1987 and held that position for 21 years until 2008, making him one of the most influential people in German Catholicism in this period. He served as member of the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

from 1986 to 1998 and served as vice-president of the Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe from 1993 to 2001. In 1993, Lehmann along with Bishop of Rottenburg-Stuttgart Walter Kasper and Archbishop of Freiburg Oskar Saier issued a pastoral letter that argued that there should be an opening for pastoral flexibility on allowing divorced and civilly remarried persons to receive the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

. The letter was read in the churches of their dioceses in September of that year.

Abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

was a major issue during Lehmann's term as chairman of the Conference of the German Bishops. After the

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

abortion laws needed to be reconciled. Working closely with CDU and

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany and governed the ''Federal Republic'' from 1982 to 1998. He was leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to ...

, Lehmann favoured a compromise where abortion remained illegal, but under certain circumstances not punishable. This became the fundament for the German legislation in the area. To obtain impunity, a woman was in most cases required to go through counseling before abortion and the Church would for a time offer such counseling. In 1998 Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

, against the wish of Lehmann and a majority of German bishops, banned the Church from participating in the system. Lehmann mentioned the 1998 Katholikentag in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

as one of the highlights his years as bishop of the diocese. Karl kardinal lehmann-2

Lehmann was raised to the rank of cardinal by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

at the consistory of 21 February 2001. The appointment came unexpected to many observers due to Lehmann's relatively liberal view on abortion counselling and giving eucharist to remarried parishioners. Former Chancellor of Germany

, who was a friend of Lehmann, had lobbied the Vatican for the appointment. He was one of the electors who participated in the

papal conclave A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around ...

s of

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and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

that selected

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

and

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

. The Titular Church of Lehmann in Rome was San Leone I. Lehmann was among the cardinals and bishops who met annually from 1995 to 2006 in St. Gallen, Switzerland, to discuss reforms with respect to the appointment of bishops, collegiality, bishops' conferences, the primacy of the papacy and sexual morality. About a dozen in number, they differed among themselves, but shared the view that Cardinal

Joseph Ratzinger Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as po ...

was not the candidate they hoped to see elected at the next conclave.

accepted his resignation as Bishop of Mainz on 16 May 2016, his 80th birthday. Being considered a leading force for a more liberal Catholicism, he was called a bridge-builder, a man of dialogue and a "stroke of luck for German Catholics" by supporters, while Conservative critics derided the "Lehmann Church" as too accommodating to modern values.

Coat of arms

Cardinal Lehmann's episcopal coat of arms incorporated elements such as the wheel from the arms of the Diocese of Mainz, the key from the Diocese of Worms, and an open book with the letters Alpha and Omega, a symbol of the message of Jesus Christ, as well as for the Cardinal's personal enthusiasm for literature. His Latin

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

, ''State in fide'' (English: "Stand firmly in the faith") was derived from .

Later years

His last public appearance was in August 2017 at the consecration of Peter Kohlgraf as new bishop of Mainz. In September 2017, Lehmann suffered a stroke and cerebral hemorrhage which left him in need of care, first at hospital and later at home. He died on 11 March 2018. Chancellor of Germany

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

expressed sorrow at his death and referred to him as one of the most prominent figures of the Catholic Church in Germany. The chairman of the German Bishops' Conference Reinhard Marx paid respect to Lehmann as a man who had influenced the Catholic Church globally.

Honors and awards

* 2000

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

(Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland)Prof. Dr. phil. Dr. theol. Karl Lehmann, Kardinal, Bischof von Mainz
Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur Maintz Retrieved 11 March 2018 * 2002

Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

* 2006 Commander of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

* 2009 Hessian Cultural Prize * 2009 Order of Merit of Rhineland-Palatinate * 2016 Martin-Luther-Medaille, awarded by the Protestant Church in Germany

References

External links

*
Karl Cardinal Lehman at Catholic-Hierarchy.org

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehmann, Karl 1936 births 2018 deaths 21st-century German cardinals Bishops of Mainz (1802-present) Academic staff of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz Academic staff of the University of Freiburg People from the Province of Hohenzollern People from Sigmaringen Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum alumni Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts 20th-century German Roman Catholic priests