Karl Neundörfer

Karl Neundörfer (born May 5, 1885 in Mainz , † August 13, 1926 at Sils Maria in the Upper Engadin) was a German Roman Catholic priest and lawyer.

Life

Since his school days in Mainz he was friends with the later religious philosopher Romano Guardini and worked with him during his studies to develop his own unhegelian doctrine of opposites, which was to characterize both works throughout. Due to the agreed division of labor, Neundörfer, who had studied theology and law, should apply them more in the political-social and canonical law and political area. This is already beginning to become apparent in 1909 in his doctorate on the separation of church and state in France .

Together with Guardini, he was active in the Quickborn Catholic youth movement at Rothenfels Castle from 1920 to 1926 . Professionally, as Caritas Director of the Diocese of Mainz, he was particularly committed to youth welfare . At the same time he was pastor of St. Quintin (Mainz) from 1918 until his death in 1926 . He died in a fall into a crevasse in the mountains of the Upper Engadin.

His 16 years younger brother Ludwig Neundörfer and Walter Dirks edited a selection of his essays on social and cultural policy, published between 1909 and 1926 under the title “Between Church and World” from the estate, which identify him as an important social theorist of his time. Ludwig Neundörfer, also a friend of Romano Guardini, felt strongly committed to the legacy of his older brother and continued his work in terms of the social and welfare reform.

Fonts

• The question of the separation of church and state according to their current status . Munich 1913.
• About the possibility of a denominational peace . In: Historical-political papers for Catholic Germany . Vol. 157. Munich 1916, pp. 488-495.
• The church as a social necessity . In: highlands . Vol. 20 (1922/1923), pp. 225-238.
• The rise of episcopal power . In: highlands. Vol. 21 (1924), pp. 449-459.
• Contending Powers in the Reich Law for Youth Welfare . In: highlands . Vol. 20 (1922/1923), pp. 509-529.
• Between church and world . Edited by Ludwig Neundörfer and Walter Dirks. Frankfurt am Main 1927.

literature

• Karl Neundörfer in memory of his friends . Mainz 1926.
• Gerta Krabbel: Karl Neundörfer † . In: The Christian Woman . Vol. 24 (1926), pp. 261-264.
• Hanna-Barbara Gerl : Karl Neundörfer . In: Romano Guardini 1885-1968. Life and work . 2nd edition Mainz 1985, ISBN 3-7867-1146-1 , pp. 67-71.
• Reinhild Ahlers: Church law in contrast. Karl Neundörfer's contribution to a justification of canon law , in: Internationale Katholische Zeitschrift Communio , Jg. 19 (1990), pp. 175-183.
• Reinhild Ahlers:  Neundörfer, Karl. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 19, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-428-00200-8 , p. 175 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Alexander Hollerbach: The Mainz priest Dr. iur. Karl Neundörfer (1885-1926). Aspects of his life and work , in: Albert Raffelt , Barbara Nichtweiß : Weg und Weite (Festschrift for Karl Lehmann ), Freiburg i. B. 2001.