Joachim Meisner
| His Eminence Joachim Meisner |
|
|---|---|
| Cardinal Archbishop of Cologne | |
 Oil on canvas by Gerd Mosbach |
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| Church | Cologne Cathedral |
| Archdiocese | Cologne |
| Province | Cologne |
| Metropolis | Cologne |
| See | Cologne |
| Appointed | 20 December 1988 |
| Enthroned |
|
| Predecessor | Joseph Höffner |
| Other posts | Cardinal-Priest of S. Pudenziana |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 22 December 1962 by Josef Freusberg |
| Consecration | 17 May 1975 by Hugo Aufderbeck |
| Created Cardinal | 2 February 1983 |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Joachim Meisner |
| Born | 25 December 1933 Breslau, Prussia German Reich |
| Nationality | German |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Previous post |
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| Motto | spes nostra firma est pro vobis |
| Coat of arms |  |
Joachim Meisner (born December 25, 1933) is a German cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the current Archbishop of Cologne, serving since 1989.[1] He previously served as Bishop of Berlin from 1980 to 1989, and was created a cardinal in 1983.[2] He is widely considered to be Germany's leading conservative Catholic figure.[3][4][5]
Contents |
[edit] Early life and ordination
Meisner was born in Breslau, which was then part of Germany, but is now known as Wrocław in southwestern Poland.[6] He studied at the seminary of Erfurt from 1959 to 1962,[6] and was ordained a deacon on 8 April 1962.[7] On 22 December 1962, he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Josef Freusberg, an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Fulda.[2]
Between 1963 and 1975, Meisner served as chaplain at St. Giles Parish in Heiligenstadt and Holy Cross Parish in Erfurt.[6] He also served as diocesan director of Caritas.[7] During his pastoral ministry, he furthered his studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he received his doctorate of theology in 1969.[1]
[edit] 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 Vatican 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.
| Styles of Joachim Meisner |
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|---|---|
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Cologne |
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.
[edit] Views
[edit] 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 XVI.
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."[8]
[edit] Culture and liturgy
"Wherever culture 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.[9]
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.[10][11][12]
[edit] 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)
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Archbishop Joachim Meisner". Cologne Cathedral. http://www.koelner-dom.de/joachimmeisner.html?&L=1.
- ^ a b "Joachim Cardinal Meisner". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmeisner.html.
- ^ Palmo, Rocco (2007-09-16). "Cardinal Says "Degenerate"; Fracas Ensues". Whispers in the Loggia. http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2007/09/cardinal-says-degenerate-fracas-ensues.html.
- ^ "The isolated Cologne archbishop, Cardinal Joachim Meisner". Catholic New Times. 2005-09-11. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0MKY/is_13_29/ai_n15627705.
- ^ "Daniel-in-lion’s-den moment for new Catholic archbishop of free-wheeling Berlin". Reuters. 2011-07-05. http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2011/07/05/daniel-in-lions-den-moment-for-new-catholic-archbishop-of-free-wheeling-berlin.
- ^ a b c "MEISNER Card. Joachim". Holy See. http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_meisner_j_en.html.
- ^ a b "MEISNER, Joachim (1933- )". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios-m.htm#Meisner.
- ^ Tara Holmes: Benedict XVI, BBC, August 6, 2009
- ^ Although the Cardinal said his meaning was "that when art and religion are separated, both are damaged", and a spokesman for him said he had not intended to pay tribute to "old ideologies", a writer for an Internet site that describes itself as "the Internet platform against extremism of the right" accused him of using Goebbels-like incendiary language against artists, in a cowardly attack by one who "has control over a huge and wealthy empire that includes property, church media and the allegiance of millions of believers" against those who "are vulnerable within society: generally isolated, badly paid and rarely organized into trade unions or powerful professional bodies".Karen Margolis: Watch their words. Meisner & Herman, the German backwards crusaders
- ^ New York Times: "Pixelated Stained Glass" December 09, 2007
- ^ Die Welt: "Gerhard Richter weist Meisners Kritik zurück" 31 August 2007.
- ^ Deutsche Welle: "Window by Artist Gerhard Richter Unveiled at Cologne Cathedral" 27 August 2007
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joachim Meisner |
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alfred Bengsch until 1979 |
 Bishop of Berlin 1980–1988 |
Succeeded by Georg Sterzinsky in 1989 |
| Preceded by Joseph Höffner |
 Archbishop of Cologne 1989–present |
Succeeded by incumbent |
| Preceded by Gerhard Schaffran |
Chairman of the Berlin Conference of Catholic Bishops 1982–1988 |
Succeeded by Joachim Wanke |
- 1933 births
- Living people
- People from Wrocław
- People from the Province of Lower Silesia
- German cardinals
- German Roman Catholics
- Members of the Zentrale Dombauverein zu Köln von 1842
- German Roman Catholic archbishops
- Archbishops of Cologne
- Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II
- Recipients of the Order of the White Lion
- Alumni of the Pontifical Gregorian University
