Friedrich Weather

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Friedrich Cardinal Wetter in the Carmelite Church Munich (2008)
Friedrich Cardinal Wetter, Portrait of Günter Rittner (1998)

Friedrich Cardinal Wetter (born February 20, 1928 in Landau in the Palatinate ) is retired Archbishop of Munich and Freising .

Life

Friedrich Wetter was born into a family of railway workers - his father was a train driver . He grew up with the two sisters Hildegard and Hedwig (as a nun, Sr. Maria Immolata ).

After graduating from high school in 1948, Wetter studied Catholic theology at the Philosophical-Theological University of Sankt Georgen in Frankfurt am Main and at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome . There he received on October 10 in 1953 by Cardinal Clemente Micara the priesthood . In 1956 he was with a dissertation on the subject of the teaching of Benedict XII. the intense growth of the vision of God for a doctor of theology doctorate .

From 1956 to 1958 Wetter worked as a chaplain in Speyer , where he then worked as an assistant and lecturer at the seminary until 1960 . After that he was assistant priest for a short time in Glan-Münchweiler , West Palatinate , until he was given leave of absence for his habilitation in 1961 .

He continued his academic career first as a lecturer and later as a professor of fundamental theology at the Eichstätt University of Applied Sciences . In 1965 he completed his habilitation at the Martin Grabmann Research Institute in Munich with the dogmatist Michael Schmaus with the thesis The Trinity Teaching of Johannes Duns Scotus . In 1967 he received a professorship for dogmatics at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz . After Pope Paul VI. appointed Bishop of Speyer , he was still an honorary professor .

His episcopal ordination took place on June 29, 1968 in Speyer Cathedral . His predecessor on the Speyer bishopric, Isidor Markus Emanuel , was consecrator ; Co- consecrators were the Mainz bishop Hermann Volk and the Trier auxiliary bishop Alfred Kleinermeilert .

After Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was called to Rome as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , Wetter was appointed 12th Archbishop of Munich and Freising on October 28, 1982 as his successor by Pope John Paul II (inauguration: December 12, 1982) May 1985 accepted into the college of cardinals as cardinal priest with the titular church of Santo Stefano al Monte Celio . In 1981 he took over the chairmanship of the Faith Commission in the German Bishops' Conference , which he held until 2008. Between 1991 and 1994 a pastoral forum took place under the direction of Cardinal Wetter , in which a reform of pastoral care in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising took place with the participation of the faithful was operated.

Wetter already had 2003 shortly before his 75th birthday, as is the case with church law in Can. 401 § 1, offered the Pope his resignation , but John Paul II had initially refused. Only Pope Benedict XVI. accepted the resignation on February 2, 2007, but at the same time asked that Wetter, as Apostolic Administrator with all the rights and powers of a diocesan bishop, lead the archbishopric as before until a new archbishop was appointed. Cardinal Wetter complied with this request.

The appointment as Apostolic Administrator is considered unusual; because it is usually the responsibility of the cathedral chapter to elect a diocesan administrator for the duration of the vacancy . With the appointment of the administrator by the Pope, the cathedral chapter was deprived of this opportunity. The measure was attributed to the special relationship of trust between the Pope and Wetter.

On November 30, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI appointed the previous Bishop of Trier , Reinhard Marx , as Archbishop of Munich and Freising. Wetter's term of office ended on February 2, 2008, when Marx was introduced to his new office as part of a pontifical office. Since his retirement he has lived in the mother house of the Sisters of Mercy in Munich.

Wetter is a member of the Board of Trustees at the Jewish Center in Munich . He is an honorary member of the Marian Men's Congregation of the Annunciation at the Bürgersaal in Munich, founded in 1610 . On the occasion of his retirement, the Catholic Academy in Bavaria launched the Cardinal Wetter Prize, named after him, in 2008 , which is awarded annually for theological dissertation or habilitation theses.

Episcopal coat of arms

Weather coat of arms as Bishop of Speyer
Coat of arms of the Archbishop Friedrich Cardinal Wetter of Munich and Freising

The quartered coat of arms shows in fields 1 and 4 a silver cross on a blue background for the diocese of Speyer, in the 2nd and 3rd fields three red flames on a silver background as a symbol of the Trinity .

His fourth coat of arms as Archbishop of Munich and Freising shows the Freising Moor with a red crown on a golden background in the first and fourth fields, and three golden flames on a red background in the other fields.

The shield is accompanied by heraldic insignia:

  • As a bishop with a green pontifical hat ( Galero ) with six green tassels (fiocchi) each, shepherd's staff and cross.
  • As archbishop with a green pontifical hat with ten green tassels each and a double cross.
  • As a cardinal with a red pontifical hat with fifteen tassels each.

His motto Pax vobis (“Peace be with you”) ( Joh 20,19  EU ) is the greeting of the risen Christ as he stepped into the midst of his disciples.

Viewpoints

  • Wetter stands for the protection of unborn life and for an "undiminished quality and importance of the pregnancy advice provided by the Catholic Church".
  • In dealing with the Karlsruhe crucifix resolution , he spoke of an "edict of intolerance".
  • In connection with the cases of abuse in the Catholic Church that were uncovered in 2010, Wetter criticizes the "organizational activities" that followed and the "disoriented hustle and bustle" of the church institutions. Instead he calls for a renewal of the church from people.

Honors

Awards

Festschriften

  • Peter Pfister (Ed.): Your friends of God all too equal. Saints and Blessed in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising . Archbishop Friedrich Cardinal Wetter on his 75th birthday. Don Bosco Verlag, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-7698-1405-3 .
  • Friedrich Wetter: With you I am a Christian, for you I am a bishop . With photographs by Thomas Klinger . Verl. Sankt Michaelsbund, Munich 1998. ISBN 3-920821-04-1 .
  • Friedrich Wetter: Who stays in love - sermon at the Eucharistic celebration with blessing of the married couples on September 30, 2007 in the Mariendom in Freising . With photographs by Thomas Klinger and Konstanze Klinger. Archbishop's Ordinariate, Munich 2007.

literature

  • Ferdinand Schlickel : Friedrich Wetter. Bishop of Speyer (1968–1982) . In: Hans Ammerich (Hrsg.): Life pictures of the bishops of Speyer since the re-establishment of the diocese of Speyer in 1817/21 . Celebration for the 60th birthday of His Excellency Dr. Anton Schlembach, Bishop of Speyer. tape 15 . Archives of the Diocese of Speyer: Writings of the Diocesan Archives Speyer, Speyer 1992, p. 339-358 .
  • Friedrich Kardinal Wetter , in: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 31/2007 from August 4, 2007, in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely available)

Web links

Commons : Friedrich Wetter  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cardinal Friedrich Wetter turns 90 years old. In: press release. Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, February 16, 2018, accessed on January 5, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b Barbara Just: The Munich Cardinal Friedrich Wetter is 90 years old. domradio.de, February 19, 2018, accessed April 6, 2019 .
  3. ↑ After acceptance of the resignation: Cardinal Wetter appointed Apostolic Administrator. In: Statement in full. Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, February 2, 2007, accessed on January 5, 2019 .
  4. ^ Members of the Board of Trustees. Jewish Center Jakobsplatz, accessed January 5, 2019 .
  5. ↑ The honorary members of the Marian Men's Congregation of the Annunciation at the Bürgersaal in Munich. Marian Men's Congregation of the Annunciation at the Bürgersaal in Munich, accessed on January 5, 2019 . , accessed July 7, 2012
  6. ↑ Prize winners. Catholic Academy in Bavaria, accessed January 5, 2019 .
  7. ↑ a b Cardinal Friedrich Wetter - detailed curriculum vitae. Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, accessed on October 30, 2017 .
  8. ↑ Sermon of the Archbishop em. Friedrich Cardinal Wetter at the pontifical service for Pentecost in the Liebfrauendom in Munich on May 23, 2010. (PDF; 23 kB) Press Office Archbishop's Office in Munich, accessed on May 26, 2010 .
  9. ↑ Latest news. Action for Life e. V., March 8, 2010, accessed January 5, 2019 .
predecessor Office successor
Isidor Markus Emanuel Bishop of Speyer
1968–1982 		Anton Schlembach
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Archbishop of Munich and Freising
1982-2007 		Reinhard Cardinal Marx
personal data
SURNAME Weather, Friedrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wetter, Friedrich Cardinal (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German clergyman, retired Archbishop of Munich and Freising, cardinal
DATE OF BIRTH February 20, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Landau in the Palatinate