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Ivo Fürer

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His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Ivo Fürer
Bishop Emeritus of St. Gallen
Appointed29 March 1995
Term ended16 October 2005
PredecessorOtmar Mäder
SuccessorMarkus Büchel
Previous post(s)General Secretary of the Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe
Orders
Ordination3 April 1954
Consecration5 June 1995
by Otmar Mäder
Personal details
Born
Ivo Fürer

(1930-04-20)20 April 1930
Gossau, St. Gallen, Switzerland
Died12 July 2022(2022-07-12) (aged 92)
Gossau, St. Gallen, Switzerland
DenominationRoman Catholic

Jakob Andreas Ivo Fürer (20 April 1930 – 12 July 2022) was a Swiss prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Bishop of St. Gallen from 1995 to 2005.

Biography

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Fürer was born in Gossau, Switzerland, and studied Catholic theology at Innsbruck University and canon law in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University, where in 1957 he earned a doctorate in canon law. He was ordained a priest on 3 April 1954. He was a chaplain in Herisau from 1958 to 1963 and in Altstätten from 1963 to 1967. He became Bishop's Secretary in St. Gallen in 1967 and then Bishop's Vicar in 1969.[1] In 1971 he helped found the Working Community of Christian Churches in Switzerland, a body of the National Council of Churches.[2] In 1972 he was the president of the Swiss and diocesan synods. He was General Secretary of the Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe from 1977 to 1995. He became a cathedral deacon in 1991.[1]

Fürer was elected bishop of St. Gallen on 28 March 1995 and appointed to that position the next day by Pope John Paul II. He was consecrated a bishop on 5 June 1995 by Bishop Otmar Mäder with Bishops Henri Salina and Karl Lehmann as co-consecrators.

In 1995 Fürer and Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini of Milan guided the formation of a group of about a dozen like-minded cardinals and bishops who met annually from 1995 to 2006 in St. Gallen to discuss Church reforms, including the appointment of bishops, collegiality, bishops' conferences, the primacy of the papacy, and sexual morality. They differed among themselves, but shared the view that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was not the sort of candidate they hoped to see elected at the next conclave.[3][4] Though some media reports discussed this as a conspiracy, Fürer said in 2015 that it was a circle of friends (Freundeskreis) that at first discussed Church policy and then also candidates for the papacy as the health of Pope John Paul II declined. He said it last met in 2006.[5][6]

As a member of the Swiss Bishops' Conference he was responsible for the Deaconate and Relief Services. Beginning in 1997 he headed the Secretariat of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences.[7] He submitted his resignation on his 75th birthday, and Pope Benedict XVI accepted it on 16 October 2005.[8]

In 2005, the University of Fribourg awarded him an honorary doctorate in recognition of his contribution to implementing the principles of the Second Vatican Council in Switzerland and in Europe.[9] In 2007 the University of St. Gallen named him an Honorary Senator for "his important contribution towards the promotion of openness and tolerance across the borders of denominations and cultures".[1]

From 1998 to 2009 he served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Swiss Catholic Lenten Fund (Fastenopfer), a Roman Catholic charity based in Lucerne that fights hunger and poverty and promotes the development of a sustainable way of life.[citation needed] Fürer died on 12 July 2022 at the age of 92, after a years-long fight with Parkinson's disease.[10]

Selected writings

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  • Die Eigentümer der st.-gallischen Bistumsfonds und der aus Kirchengut hervorgegangenen Fonds des kath. Konfessionsteils des Kantons St. Gallen, Menziken, Herisau 1960 (Dissertation)
  • Die Bischofskonferenz: theologischer und juridischer Status, Patmos, Düsseldorf 1989, ISBN 3-491-77774-7, edited by Hubert Müller and Hermann J. Pottmeyer
  • Co-author with Michael Fuss, Kurt Koch, Franz König, Guido Vergauwen: Neuevangelisierung Europas. Chancen und Versuchungen, St. Paul AG Universitätsverlag, Freiburg 1993, ISBN 3-7228-0318-7

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Bishop Ivo Fürer appointed Honorary Senator, four honorary doctorates awarded" (PDF). University of St. Gallen. 9 June 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Die Ökumene in der Schweiz ist ein noch junger Baum". Kirche Heute (in German). 22 July 2011. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  3. ^ Pentin, Edward (24 September 2015). "Cardinal Danneels Admits to Being Part of 'Mafia' Club Opposed to Benedict XVI". National Catholic Register. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  4. ^ Pentin, Edward (26 September 2015). "Cardinal Danneels' Biographers Retract Comments on St. Gallen Group". National Catholic Register. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  5. ^ "Aktuelles" (in German). Bistum St. Gallen. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2017. The diocese presents an archive of its press releases. The press release of the diocese is "Sensationsmeldung?" ("Sensational News?") dated 30 September 2015 and at the bottom of that is a link to Fürer's statement "Erklärungen von em. Bischof Ivo Fürer" ("Explanations by Bishop emeritus Ivo Fürer").
  6. ^ "Smoking gun? Pope Francis' critics cite new book in questioning his papacy". The Washington Post. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  7. ^ "Zeit zum Beten, Lesen, Schreiben". St. Galler Tagblatt (in German). 2 July 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  8. ^ "Rinunce e Nomine, 17.10.2005" (Press release) (in Italian). Press Office of the Holy See. 17 October 2005. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  9. ^ "Die Ehrendoktoren und Ehrendoktorinnen der theologischen Fakultät" (in German). Universität Freiburg. 22 February 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  10. ^ "Ehemaliger St. Galler Bischof Ivo Fürer verstorben". Blick (in German). 13 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
Further reading
  • Josef Osterwalder: Dem Volk Gottes dienen: Ivo Fürer, Bischof und Weggefährte, Verlag am Klosterhof St. Gallen 2005 (ISBN 3-906616-69-X).
  • Julia Meloni, The St. Gallen Mafia: Exposing the Secret Reformist Group within the Church, Gastonia, TAN Books, 2021, 168 p. (ISBN 978-1505122879).
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Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of St. Gallen
1995–2005 		Succeeded by
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