Heinrich JF Reinhardt

Heinrich Josef Ferdi Reinhardt (born August 26, 1942 in Herne ) is a former professor of canon law at the Ruhr University in Bochum .

Life

He was born as the son of the painter Heinrich Reinhardt and his wife Anna. Heidhues was born in Herne. There he attended elementary school and later secondary school. In February 1963 he passed his Abitur at the St. Thomas College of the Dominicans in Vechta . In 1970 he married his wife Dorothee; 1973 daughter Astrid was born. His wife died on February 18, 2007.

Education

Reinhardt studied at the Archbishop's Philosophical-Theological Academy in Paderborn philosophy and theology, then at the Universities of Freiburg and Bochum theology in Bochum also law . In 1967 he obtained a licentiate in theology at the Catholic Theological Faculty of the Ruhr University Bochum with a thesis supervised by Ludwig Hödl, and in 1972 the doctorate there with a dissertation also accompanied by Heribert Heinemann . After studying canon law at the University of Strasbourg , he obtained the degree of licentiate in canon law in 1986 with a study that he carried out under the mentorship of Jean Schlick.

Professional activity

Heinrich Reinhardt was a research assistant to Matthäus Kaiser at the chair for canon law at the Ruhr University Bochum (1965–1969), then a research assistant to his successor, Heribert Heinemann (1969–1975). From 1976 he was an administrative canon at the Episcopal Vicariate in Essen as well as an attorney and legal representative at the Episcopal Office there . In 1984 he moved to the diocese of Münster , where he again worked as an administrative canonist; since then he has also been a diocesan judge at the Episcopal Office of Münster. Since then there has been a close connection to the Philosophical-Theological College of the Franciscans and Capuchins in Münster, where he has held a teaching position since 1984, a professorship since 1988 and a visiting professorship for canon law since 1992.

In the 1992 summer semester, Heinrich Reinhardt accepted a position at the Ruhr University in Bochum as the successor to his teacher Heribert Heinemann. Reinhardt headed the Catholic Theological Faculty there from 1999 to 2002 as dean, and maintaining it required his special commitment. The establishment of an interdisciplinary course "Scientific advanced training in emergency pastoral care" at the Ruhr University in 2003 is thanks to Reinhardt's initiative. - In 1996 he turned down an offer from the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn .

Reinhardt's commitment to the education and training of the Essen diocesan priests is linked to his teaching activities in Bochum. In 1995, Bishop Hubert Luthe appointed him to the admission committee of the seminary and lecturer in the subject of canon law, and in 1998 he was appointed diocesan examiner for the diocese of Essen.

At the Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster, Reinhardt has held various teaching assignments in the postgraduate course in Canon Law since its establishment in the summer semester of 1992, with a focus on sacraments, constitutional law, legal history and particular church law, and is deputy head of its examination board. Reinhardt's interests and research focus are particularly in the areas of ecclesiastical legal history, constitutional and administrative law, sacraments and marriage law, and ecumenism.

Numerous publications were created during this time that are popular with canonists and pastors in Germany, e.g. B. the explanation of the church marriage preparation protocol, which has given you answers to the most important related questions for over 15 years. In addition, he has written various articles in the Handbuch des Katholischen Kirchenrecht and in the Munster Commentary, the largest German commentary on the CIC / 1983.

Commissions

In addition, Reinhardt is known and deserved as a committed advisor who brings his expertise to a number of commissions and working groups. The Archbishop of Paderborn Johannes Joachim Degenhardt appointed him in 1995 to the scientific advisory board of the “ Johann Adam Möhler Institute for Ecumenism ” and in 1998 as co-editor of the magazine “Catholica”. Since 2001 he has been an adviser to the Ecumenical Commission of the German Bishops' Conference , as well as to its working group on canon law. In 2003 he was appointed a member of the International Roman Catholic / Old Catholic Dialogue Commission, which works on behalf of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and the International Bishops' Conference of the Old Catholic Churches. His commitment to ecumenism finally led him in 1994 to the interdenominational canon law working group of the Evangelical Study Community in Heidelberg (Heidelberg Circle). He became well known early on, as a member of the translation commission of the German Bishops' Conference for the Codex Iuris Canonici of 1983.

literature

• Althaus, Rüdiger; Lüdicke, Klaus; Pulte, Matthias: Canon Law and Theology in the Life of the Church - Festschrift for Heinrich JF Reinhardt on the completion of his 65th year of life, Essen 2007.

Web links

• Literature by and about Heinrich JF Reinhardt in the catalog of the German National Library