Cardinal Höffner Circle

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The Kardinal-Höffner-Kreis (KHK) was founded in Bonn in 1992 as a loose association of Christian members of the CDU / CSU parliamentary group , entrepreneurs from the ranks of the “ Association of Catholic Entrepreneurs ” (BKU) and journalists. From the beginning it saw itself as a forum for committed Christians at the interface between politics, economy and society. Most of its members are of the Catholic denomination and are active in Catholic organizations. The circle does not have the status of a working group of the CDU (such as the Evangelical working group ).

History of origin

After a few preliminary talks following the decision of the German Bundestag to relocate the government and parliament to Berlin, a founding meeting of the circle took place in March 1992 in the basement of the Federal Ministry of Labor headed by Norbert Blüm . Among the initiators, founders and first shapers of the circle were the CSU politician and member of the Bundestag Norbert Geis , the secretary of the committee of the German Bundestag, Gerald Kretschmer and the CDU politician Bernhard Worms (State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs) and Christoph Böhr ( CDU member of the state parliament from Rhineland-Palatinate). The entrepreneur Philipp Laufenberg brought the BKU and thus the Catholic entrepreneurship into this group, the journalist Martin Lohmann the voice of Catholic journalism. It was a common concern that economic and socio-political Catholicism and the fundamental principles of Catholic social doctrine and social ethics should continue to be heard in a reunified Germany, which was no longer so strongly influenced by the Catholic Church. In addition, the district should help prevent the CDU from drifting to the left.

Naming

The circle got its name, which is still valid today, after a conversation between the founding personalities and the Archbishop of Cologne, Joachim Cardinal Meisner . He was very supportive of the founding of the circle and made the proposal to name the group after his predecessor on the Cologne bishop's chair, Joseph Cardinal Höffner . Meisner justified this with the fact that Höffner, as a theologian and economist, was a proven expert and an icon of Catholic social teaching and ethics. The very committed people in the early days of the district also included Kohl's confidante and State Secretary Manfred Carstens (CDU) and Cologne Auxiliary Bishop Klaus Dick . At one of the first events of the circle, the Prague Archbishop Cardinal Miloslav Vlk appeared as a guest speaker in the Baden-Württemberg state representation in Bonn.

management

In 1993, Georg Brunnhuber (CDU Member of the Bundestag) took over the management of the district, which later went to Hermann Kues (CDU) and then to Karl Schiewerling (CDU). State Secretary Christian Hirte (CDU) has been the chairman of the circle since 2017 .

Working method

The circle meets at irregular intervals in the Parliamentary Society opposite the Reichstag building. The aim is to openly discuss topics of Christian social doctrine and Christian values ​​in a protected setting, to obtain in-depth information and to coordinate. Subject are u. a. Questions of bioethics , the right to life and § 219a StGB . Depending on the topic, people from the parliamentary environment, representatives of Catholic associations and bishops are also invited. Regardless of the Catholic founding history, the circle attaches great importance to ecumenical openness. Regular guests are the Protestant MPs Volker Kauder , Hermann Gröhe , spokesman for religious policy for the parliamentary group, and Michael Brand .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://www.bku.de/index.php?ka=4&ska=87
  2. ↑ Marx: "C" remains a challenging requirement for the Union. Retrieved January 18, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Invitation by the CDU / CSU parliamentary group to the 25th anniversary of the Cardinal Höffner Circle, accessed on January 26, 2019
  4. ↑ Domradio's contribution to the 25th anniversary of the circle, accessed on January 27, 2019
  5. ↑ a b c d Martin Lohmann: In search of the "C" - The "Cardinal Höffner Circle" (KHK) in Berlin: An idea from Bonn celebrates its birthday. In: www.tabularasamagazin.de. Dr. Dr. Stefan Groß, MA, January 15, 2019, accessed on January 21, 2019 .
  6. ↑ domradio.de/ Christoph Scholz (KNA): concerns more topical than ever. Retrieved February 20, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Domradio's contribution to the 25th anniversary of the circle, accessed on January 27, 2019