Kurt Koch
| Kurt Koch | |
|---|---|
| President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity | |
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| Appointed | 1 July 2010 |
| Predecessor | Walter Kasper |
| Other posts | Cardinal-Deacon of Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 20 June 1982 by Otto Wüst |
| Consecration | 6 January 1997 by Pope John Paul II |
| Created Cardinal | 20 November 2010 |
| Rank | Cardinal-Deacon |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Kurt Koch |
| Born | 15 March 1950 Emmenbrücke, Switzerland |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Previous post |
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| Styles of Kurt Koch |
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Basel (Emeritus) |
Kurt Koch (born 15 March 1950) is a Swiss Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, currently serving as president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity since his appointment was announced on 1 July 2010. He is also the bishop emeritus of Basel having served from 1995 until he resigned the see in 2010.
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[edit] Personal background
Koch was born in Emmenbrücke in the canton of Lucerne. He studied theology at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich and at the University of Lucerne, graduating in 1975 with a Doctor of Theology. He was ordained to the priesthood on 20 June 1982.
[edit] Ecclesiastical career
On 21 August 1995, Koch was elected Bishop of Basel; his election was confirmed by Pope John Paul II on the following 6 December. He received his episcopal ordination on 6 January 1997 from John Paul II himself, with Archbishops Giovanni Battista Re and Jorge María Mejía serving as co-consecrators.
When a group of Swiss intellectuals and theologians called for John Paul's resignation on 20 May 2004, Koch described the act as "disgusting and disloyal" as it was, moreover, the Pope's eighty-fourth birthday.[1] In 2006, in an interview for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung[2] he supported Muslim's freedom to build minarets in Switzerland, but also asked for greater religious freedom for Christians in Muslim countries.[3]
On 27 June 2007, Bishop Koch, along with several other Catholic prelates, attended a briefing from Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone at the Apostolic Palace on Pope Benedict XVI's impending motu proprio allowing wider celebration of the Tridentine Mass.[4]
In July 2007, Koch defended the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's document clarifying the expression of subsistit in in Lumen Gentium, while he acknowledged that the document could appear confusing or hurtful to Protestants; and he observed that the document and its reception showed the difference between the ecumenical goals of Catholics and the Orthodox on the one hand and that of Protestants on the other.[5][6]
Koch was President of the Swiss Episcopal Conference from 2007 until 2010. He is a member of the Swiss Council of Religions.
Pope Benedict XVI announced the appointment of Koch as president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity on 1 July 2010, taking over from Cardinal Walter Kasper, who stepped down having reached the age limit.[7][8] Koch was at the same time promoted to archbishop. He recounted: "The Holy Father told me in February, in a personal audience, his desire that I would begin to lead this council. It is a great joy for me because ecumenism has always been in my heart since in my country, Switzerland, Protestants are very close to us and I have also had a particular interest in the Orthodox Churches."[9]
On 16 October 2010, Pope Benedict appointed him as a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for a five-year renewable term.[10]
On 20 October 2010 Pope Benedict XVI announced that he would be among the list of new cardinals to be created in a consistory on 20 November. He was duly created and proclaimed Cardinal-Deacon of Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore on 20 November 2010. On 29 December 2010 Cardinal Koch was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.[11]
He headed the Vatican's delegation to Istanbul, Turkey to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Patriarch Bartholomew I, for the Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle on 30 November 2010 (the Patriarchate sends a delegation each year in turn for the 29 June Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul). He co-presided over a meeting of the International Mixed Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church in Vienna, Austria in September 2010 with Metropolitan John Zizioulas of Pergamon.
On 4 May 2011 Pope Benedict appointed him a member of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The five year term will be renewed until his 80th birthday.
[edit] References
- ^ "Swiss bishops denounce calls for Pope to retire". Catholic News Agency. 20 May 2004. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=1177. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ "«Ich würde den Muslimen zugestehen, ein Minarett zu haben»" (in German). Neue Zürcher Zeitung. 7 September 2006. http://www.nzz.ch/2006/09/03/il/articleefod2_1.57462.html. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ "Swiss bishop comes out in favour of minarets". Swissinfo. 3 September 2006. http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/Swiss_bishop_comes_out_in_favour_of_minarets.html?cid=5422348. Retrieved 16 May 2011. "The problem is really not the strength of Islam but the weakness of Christianity. If we were to go back to our roots and stand behind our convictions we could approach other religions more openly."
- ^ Thavis, John (29 June 2007). "Pope meets bishops, discusses decision on pre-Vatican II liturgy". Catholic News Service. http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0703702.htm. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ Cf. "Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine of the Church" (Document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith)
- ^ Wooden, Cindy (11 July 2007). "Protestant groups dismayed at new document on identity of 'church'". Catholic News Service. http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0703953.htm. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ "Rinuncia del Presidente del Pontificio Consiglio per la Promozione dell'Unità dei Cristiani e Nomina del Successore" (in Italian). Bulletin of the Holy See Press Office. 1 July 2010. http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/25822.php?index=25822&lang=en. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ "WCC welcomes Vatican's new chief ecumenist". World Council of Churches. 30 June 2010. http://www.oikoumene.org/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/wcc-welcomes-vaticans-ne.html. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ Villa, Carmen Elena (13 July 2010). "Why a Swiss Bishop for the Unity Council". ZENIT. http://www.zenit.org/article-29881?l=english. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ "Nomina di Membri della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede" (in Italian). Bulletin of the Holy See Press Office. 16 October 2010. http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/26213.php. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ "Nomina di Cardinali Membri dei Dicasteri della Curia Romana" (in Italian). Bulletin of the Holy See Press Office. 29 December 2010. http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/26621.php?index=26621. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
[edit] External links
- Catholic-Hierarchy
- Diocese of Basel (French)
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Hansjörg Vogel |
Bishop of Basel 1995—2010 |
Succeeded by Felix Gmür |
| Preceded by Amédée Grab |
President of the Swiss Episcopal Conference 2007—2010 |
Succeeded by Norbert Brunner |
| Preceded by Walter Cardinal Kasper |
President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity 1 July 2010— present |
Incumbent |
- 1950 births
- Living people
- Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
- Swiss Roman Catholic bishops
- Bishops of Basel
- Swiss bishops
- 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops
- 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops
- Swiss cardinals
- Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI
- Villa Romana prize winners
- Members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
- Members of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches
- Members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
