Christoph Schönborn

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Cardinal Schönborn at the consecration of the renovated Pope's Cross in Vienna's Danube Park (2012)
Schönborn at the Barbara celebration 2007 in Matzen (Weinviertel)

Christoph Cardinal Schönborn OP (born January 22, 1945 in Vlastislav ( Skalken Castle ) near Leitmeritz , Sudetenland as Christoph Maria Michael Hugo Damian Peter Adalbert Schönborn ) is Archbishop of Vienna and Cardinal of the Catholic Church . From 1998 to 2020 he was chairman of the Austrian Bishops' Conference . The actor Michael Schönborn and the photographer Philipp Schönborn are his brothers.

Life

The cardinal comes from the Bohemian line of the noble family Schönborn , from which dignitaries of the Catholic Church in the Holy Roman Empire had emerged in the early modern times . His father was the painter Hugo-Damian Schönborn (1916–1979), born Count von Schönborn , later a resistance fighter against the National Socialists, who deserted to the British in Belgium in October 1944.

In 1945, the family Schönborn with the words was "Mr. Schoenborn, you are unloaded from the Czech Republic with the whole family" from Castle Skalka and their home resettled . His mother Eleonore Schönborn (born April 14, 1920 in Brno ) came to relatives in Breiteneich bei Horn, Lower Austria, after the expulsion from the Sudetenland on the basis of a certificate of residence of her deceased father Baron Rudolf Doblhoff with her sons Philipp and Christoph , and after winter 1945 1946 with her oldest sister in Graz . There Eleanor met again with her husband, who had been released by the English. Due to her multilingualism, she became the chief secretary at a Vorarlberg textile company. Christoph Schönborn grew up in Schruns in the Montafon ( Vorarlberg , Austria ), where his brother, the actor Michael Schönborn , was born in 1954 as the last of his three siblings . The parents separated in the 1960s. In March 2019, he announced that he had prostate cancer.

Studies, ordination, professorship

After graduating from high school , Christoph Schönborn joined the Dominican Order in Warburg ( Westphalia ) in 1963 . After studying theology and philosophy in Bornheim-Walberberg , Vienna and Paris , he was on 27 December 1970 in Vienna by Archbishop Francis King for priests ordained . From 1971, he graduated from the Institut Catholique de Paris , a PhD study to Dr. theol. , which he completed in 1974 with the submission of a dissertation entitled “L'Icône du Christ. Fondements théologiques ” (“ The Christ Icon. Theological Foundations ”). During the doctoral phase he studied for a year from 1972 to 1973 at the University of Regensburg , among others with Joseph Ratzinger , who later became Pope Benedict XVI. From 1975 Schönborn taught - first as a visiting professor and later as a full professor - Catholic dogmatics at the University of Friborg (Switzerland) . From 1978 to 1988 he also taught theology of the Christian East in the form of a small teaching post alongside his ordinariate of dogmatics. Iso Baumer succeeded him in this department .

In 1980 Schönborn became a member of the international theological commission of the Holy See and in 1987 the editorial secretary of the World Catechism .

Episcopal ordination, creation for and work as a cardinal

Cardinal Schönborn (1999)

July 11, 1991 Pope appointed him John Paul II. To the titular of Sutrium and auxiliary bishop in Vienna. The Archbishop of Vienna, Hans Hermann Groër , donated him his episcopal ordination on September 29 of the same year in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna ; Co- consecrators were the retired Archbishop of Vienna, Franz König, and the Bishop of Brno , Vojtěch Cikrle . On April 13, 1995 he was appointed coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Vienna and on September 14 of the same year he succeeded the resigned Hans Hermann Groër as archbishop .

On 29 June 1996 he received from Pope John Paul II. The pallium , the Decoration of the Metropolitan , and was in the consistory of 21 February 1998 as a cardinal priest with the titular church of Gesu Divino Lavoratore into the College of Cardinals received.

In the same year he was elected chairman of the Austrian Bishops' Conference, of which he had been deputy chairman since 1996. He was re-elected on November 10, 2004. Schönborn is full professor for the Byzantine Rite believers in Austria .

Cardinal Schönborn was a participant in the 2005 conclave , in which Josef Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope (Benedict XVI.). Schönborn was also a participant in the 2013 conclave , in which the Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope ( Francis ). In some media circles he was briefly considered " papabile " before the 2013 conclave .

In 2005, Christoph Schönborn was invested in the Order of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem as a Grand Cross Knight . The St. Nikolaus day care home foundation in the Archdiocese of Vienna was set up by Christoph Schönborn with effect from June 1, 2009. The foundation is responsible for most of the Catholic day care centers in Vienna. On January 15, 2014 it became known that Cardinal Schönborn was appointed by Pope Francis to the Cardinals' Commission to oversee the Vatican Bank IOR .

In October 2019, as required by church law, Schönborn offered the Pope his resignation from office on January 22, 2020 when he reached the age of 75. Pope Francis did not accept this offer and left Christoph Schönborn, who is considered the Pope's confidante, in office until further notice.

Cardinal coat of arms and motto

Cardinal coat of arms

The emblem is quartered, shows in fields 1 and 4 on a red background a Greek cross on a white bar, the coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Vienna. In field 2 in red on three silver tips a striding golden lion with a blue crown, the family coat of arms of Schönborn . In field 3 a white coat on a black background, the coat of arms of the Dominicans .

Behind the shield is the double cross (patriarchal cross), above it the red galero (cardinal's hat) with the fifteen hanging red tassels (fiocchi).

His motto is Vos autem dixi amicos (“Rather, I have called you friends”) and was taken from the Gospel of John ( John 15.15  EU ).

Viewpoints

Evolution and Multiverse Hypothesis

In July 2005, Schönborn caused confusion with his text Finding Design in Nature , published in the New York Times , and other public statements in which he expressed his thoughts on the theory of evolution . In it he describes the conception that chance is the primary component of evolution as dogma and ideology . In his opinion there is an inherent divine plan and purpose in evolution (see theistic evolution ). Today widespread materialistic and naturalistic interpretations of the theory of evolution he called "evolutionism" and "neo-Darwinism". Like any interpretation that does not recognize such a plan, they are "in no way scientific, but an abdication of human intelligence". Schönborn's remarks also attracted attention because he made use of the concept of design, which at that time was in the public eye in the context of intelligent design . In some cases he even spoke of the divine plan directly as "Intelligent Design" and demanded that it must be allowed to allow this plan to be discussed in biology classes - also in the USA. This created confusion as it was seen, in part, as a rejection of the theory of evolution and an endorsement of positions by the Discovery Institute and the intelligent design movement . Schönborn was then criticized for the fact that he distanced himself very cautiously from these positions; However, he rejected these as questions of science policy that did not interest him. He pointed out that he did not doubt evolution itself, but that it was not chance but a creator god that was the determining factor. His text was published with the consent of the Pope. In his article in the New York Times, he also argued against the cosmological multiverse hypothesis , which, however, received no comparable public attention.

In March 2009, in a lecture at the Austrian Academy of Sciences , Schönborn once again presented his position in the scientific discussion of creation and the theory of evolution and, for the first time, exercised sharper self-criticism. His article in the New York Times was "a bit like a woodcut" and "still needed some differentiation," said Schönborn. He also explicitly distanced himself from creationism . The idea of ​​creating finished individual beings or species is absurd for him, so Schönborn. "It is as untenable as the creationist theses that the world would be created in six 24-hour days, like the pseudoscientific speculation about a" young "earth, about a historical interpretation of the Flood, etc." However, one should have a well-founded Christian belief in creation Also not to be lumped together with a fundamentalist-biblical understanding of creation, so the cardinal.

Schönborn also criticized the theory of intelligent design for the first time clearly: The attempt of this school to evaluate high complexity in nature as “proof of an“ intelligent design ”suffers from the fundamental mistake that design , plan and purposefulness are not on the level of Causality can be found, with which the scientific method is concerned, ”said Schönborn.

Cases of abuse

In 1995 Schönborn - who was then Auxiliary Bishop - sharply rejected the abuse allegations against Cardinal Groër published in the magazine Profil . In a statement he had stated, among other things: "Since the time of National Socialism , when priestly trials were conducted under the pretext of homosexual misconduct, there have not been any such defamation practices against the church in Austria."

Schönborn said in 2011: “Before my appointment as auxiliary bishop, I lived abroad and never heard rumors about it. So at first I was honestly convinced that it must be defamation. This is how my emotional and exaggerated words can be explained, which compared the procedure with that from the Nazi era. "

In spring 2010, Schönborn caused an upset in the Vatican with his criticism of the Cardinal Dean, Angelo Cardinal Sodano . Schoenborn accused him in an interview with the press that the former Vatican cardinal state secretary had prevented the formation of a commission of inquiry into the "Groër affair" 15 years ago, wrote Il Giornale , citing Kathpress .

He had a long conversation with the victim of sexual abuse and former FSO nun Doris Wagner .

homosexuality

In 2008 Archbishop Schönborn criticized the idea of ​​same-sex marriage in a sermon in which, among other things, he described the introduction of such a marriage as a “no to life”. Artificial contraception , abortion and same-sex marriages combined led to the end of European culture: "Europe is about to die because it has said no to life."

In 2010 he said in an interview: “When it comes to homosexuality, for example, we should see the quality of a relationship more. And also speak appreciatively about this quality. A stable relationship is certainly better than when someone simply lives out their promiscuity . "For him, this is a change from a" mandatory morality "to a" morality of happiness ". The focus is not on sin , but on the attempt to comply with the commandments .

In March 2012, Schönborn declared that there were no objections to the election of the homosexual parish council Florian Stangl from Stützenhofen on the part of the Bishops' Council. The candidates in parish council elections testified to the vitality of the church, so there are also many parish councilors whose life plans do not correspond in all respects to the ideals of the church. At the same time he affirmed that the "position of the Church on these issues [...] has not changed". It is a special case, as there are many, not a precedent. In an interview with the star, he said that he found same-sex couples' desire to marry as "touching".

asylum

In April 2019, Schönborn criticized the asylum policy of the ÖVP / FPÖ government at the time . He explained that there was “a need for discussion when a small group of people is obviously systematically put in a wrong light.” Asylum seekers were “placed under general suspicion”, but most of them had “fled from war and death and were traumatized”. Schönborn called the affixing of the “ Ausreisezentrum ” sign on the gate of the initial reception center in Traiskirchen “simply inhuman”.

euthanasia

In an interview in August 2014, Schönborn spoke out against active direct euthanasia .

Jewish-Christian dialogue

In the Good Friday Prayer for the Jews , which from the perspective of Jewish organizations was an affront , Schönborn defended the Pope's position in the English-language Catholic newspaper The Tablet . As "valuable examples of the special way in which Christians must testify to the Jews about the gospel," he cited et al. a. ( Romans 1.16  EU ): "The Gospel [...] is a power of God that saves everyone who believes, first the Jews, but also the Greeks." He further justified this with the biblical passage ( Lk 24.47  EU ) according to which Jesus instructed the apostles to preach the gospel "to all the peoples, beginning in Jerusalem." For "God first sent [him] for you to bless you and to turn everyone from his wickedness" ( Acts 3.26  EU ). Schönborn emphasized the importance of “continuing and intensifying the Judeo-Christian dialogue ” in a letter to the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde in 2012, in which he expressed his dismay at the desecration of 43 graves in the Jewish part of the Vienna Central Cemetery .

Reform of priesthood requirements

In April 2019, Schönborn announced that he could introduce himself to married Catholic priests in addition to celibate Roman Catholic priests.

Memberships

Memberships in the Roman Curia

Memberships and offices in the Austrian Bishops' Conference

  • Faith Commission (Chair), Catechetical Commission (Chair), Finance Commission, Department for Professional Pastoral Care (Canisiuswerk), Department for Ecumenism, Department for Persecuted Christians, Department for Education and School (religious instruction, Catholic private schools), Department for Catholic hospitals

Other offices

Honorary positions

Honorary memberships

  • Knight of Honor of the Teutonic Order (February 27, 2007)
  • Honorary member of the Ö.kaV Rhaeto-Danubia Vienna in the ÖCV (since October 11, 1997)
  • Honorary member of the K.Ö.L. Starhemberg Vienna in KÖL (since December 2, 1998)
  • Honorary member of the K.Ö.St.V. Frankonia Wien in the MKV (since 1999).
  • Honor and Devotion Grand Cross Bailli of the Order of Malta (since February 7, 2006)
  • Honorary member of the K.Ö.St.V. Rugia Retz (since June 28, 2009)
  • Honorary member of the Friends of Theological Courses (since 2018)

Awards

Works

  • Sophrone de Jérusalem. Vie monastique et confession dogmatique . Beauchesne, Paris 1972, ISBN 2-7010-0054-8
  • The charismatic renewal and the churches . Pustet, Regensburg 1977, ISBN 3-7917-0506-7
  • The Christ Icon. A theological introduction . Novalis, Schaffhausen 1984. (New edition Wiener Dom-Verlag 1998), ISBN 3-85351-157-0
  • Unity in faith . Johannes, Einsiedeln 1984, ISBN 3-89411-215-8
  • Existence in transition. Pilgrimage, reincarnation, deification . Johannes, Einsiedeln et al. 1987, ISBN 3-89411-216-6
  • To the church doctrine of original sin. Comments on a burning issue . Freiburg im Brsg. among others 1991, ISBN 3-89411-303-0
  • At the heart of our faith. The “Credo” in the Catechism of the Catholic Church . Wiener Dom, Vienna 1994, ISBN 3-85351-112-0
  • Sources of our faith. Liturgy and Sacraments in the Catechism of the Catholic Church . Wiener Dom, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-85351-116-3
  • Life for the church. The Pope's fasting retreat . Freiburg im Brsg. u. a. 1997, ISBN 3-451-26258-4
  • Choose life. Christian morality according to the catechism of the Catholic Church . Wiener Dom, Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-85351-156-2
  • God sent his son. Christology . (Amateca. Textbooks on Catholic Theology, Vol. 7) Bonifatius, Paderborn 2002, ISBN 3-89710-202-1
  • My jesus. Thoughts on the Gospel . Molden, Vienna 2002. ISBN 3-85485-087-5
  • See, Son of God! Thoughts on the Gospel in the Mark year . Molden, Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-85485-151-0
  • What we can live on. The mystery of the Eucharist . Herder, Freiburg im Brsg. 2005, ISBN 3-451-28602-5
  • Goal or coincidence? Creation and evolution from the perspective of a reasonable belief . Herder, Freiburg im Brsg. 2007, ISBN 978-3-451-29389-4
  • with Barbara Stöckl : Who needs God ?: Barbara Stöckl in conversation with Cardinal Christoph Schönborn , Ecowin Verlag, Salzburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-902404-33-6
  • About a happy life . Amalthea Verlag 2008, ISBN 978-3-85002-644-4
  • Jesus' school of life. Impetus for discipleship . Herder, Freiburg im Brsg. 2013, ISBN 978-3-451-30690-7

literature

Web links

Commons : Christoph Schönborn  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Lackner new chairman of the Bishops' Conference. In: ORF.at . June 16, 2020, accessed June 16, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Portrait of Cardinal Schönborn on the website of the Austrian Bishops' Conference ( memento of March 7, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), www.bischofskonferenz.at, accessed on January 28, 2015.
  3. ↑ Christa Zöchling: The true war heroes. How prominent Austrians opposed the Nazi terror, in profile from August 31, 2009
  4. ↑ Cardinal Schönborn speaks about cancer. ORF.at, March 22, 2019, accessed on March 25, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Der Standard March 4, 2013: The favorites for the successor to Benedict XVI. ( Memento from May 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ^ Vorarlberg online December 5, 2012: Cardinal Christoph Schönborn is traded as Ratzinger's successor
  7. ↑ [1] orf.at, January 15, 2014
  8. ↑ domradio.de: For the time being and for an indefinite period. Pope leaves Vienna Cardinal Schönborn in office , January 21, 2020.
  9. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from September 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  10. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from February 3, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  11. ↑ z. B. Ö1 Inforadio Thu, March 13, 2008: Schönborn again rejects the theory of evolution ( Memento from August 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ↑ a b c Schönborn distances himself from creationism in: religion.orf.at of March 5, 2009.
  13. ↑ Hubertus Czernin : Schönborn knew that everything was right. In: Falter (weekly newspaper) , 21/2011.
  14. ↑ Christoph Schönborn: Czernin was wrong here. In: Falter (weekly newspaper) , 22/2011.
  15. ↑ Schönborn criticizes Sodano ( Memento of May 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), Kleine Zeitung of May 9, 2010. Retrieved on June 8, 2011.
  16. ^ Conversation between Cardinal Schönborn and Doris Wagner
  17. ↑ Die Presse: Schönborn: "Respect for civil partnerships, no to gay marriage"
  18. ↑ Full text of Schönborn's sermon Three times "No" to life ( Memento from July 26, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  19. ↑ Wiener Zeitung reported
  20. ↑ Michael Weiß: Schönborn: Homosexual is allowed to become a parish council. ORF.at, March 30, 2012, accessed on March 26, 2013 .
  21. ↑ Schönborn: Stützenhofen "no precedent". kurier.at, May 17, 2012, accessed on March 28, 2013 .
  22. ↑ Schönborn: "touching" marriage wish of homosexuals. Retrieved March 22, 2019 .
  23. ↑ "Inhuman": Schönborn is reckoning with the government's asylum policy. diepresse.com, April 14, 2019, accessed on April 19, 2019 .
  24. ↑ Rheinische Post August 12, 2014 (page B5): "The no to euthanasia is irrevocable"
  25. ^ Judaism's way to salvation . ( Memento from March 22, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) In: The Tablet , March 29, 2008 (English)
  26. ↑ DiePresse.com , July 5, 2012.
  27. ^ Kath.net: "Viri probati": Schönborn open to debate about consecration
  28. ↑ Tiroler Tageszeitung: Schönborn - Open for consecration of “viri probati , April 14, 2019
  29. ↑ CONFERME E NOMINE NELLA CONGREGAZIONE PER LE CHIESE ORIENTALI , Vatican Press Office, February 19, 2014
  30. ^ Nomina di Membri del Pontificio Consiglio per la Promozione della Nuova Evangelizzazione , in: Press Office of the Holy See: Daily Bulletin of January 5, 2011.
  31. ↑ [2] , in: Holy See Press Office: Daily Bulletin, February 6, 2014.
  32. ↑ Announcement on the award of the medal ( Memento from April 3, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
  33. ↑ THEOLOGICAL COURSES. Retrieved March 27, 2018 .
  34. ↑ List of all decorations awarded by the Federal President for services to the Republic of Austria from 1952 (PDF; 6.9 MB).
  35. ↑ High distinction to Schönborn .
  36. ^ Orf.at: European Charlemagne Prize for Cardinal Schönborn . Article dated May 19, 2018, accessed May 20, 2018.
predecessor Office successor
Hans Hermann Cardinal Groër OSB Archbishop of Vienna
since 1995 		-
Hans Hermann Cardinal Groër OSB Full professor for believers in Eastern rites in Austria
since 1995 		-
Johann Weber Chairman of the Austrian Bishops' Conference
1998–2020 		Franz Lackner
personal data
SURNAME Schönborn, Christoph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schönborn-Wiesentheid, Christoph Maria Michael Hugo Damian Peter Adalbert Graf von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian archbishop and cardinal
DATE OF BIRTH January 22, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Skalken near Leitmeritz, Bohemia