May Laws (German Empire)
As May Laws are generally during the Kulturkampf in Prussia called and in the German Empire enacted church policy laws. Their name goes back to the fact that they were adopted in May of the years 1873, 1874 and 1875.
prehistory
The relationship between state and church has always been a matter of dispute in the history of Christianity. Well beyond the Middle Ages, the church felt called upon to have a say in state affairs and to issue instructions. In Germany, the situation has been complicated since the Reformation by the existence of a large Catholic and several Protestant religious communities.
The 1st Vatican Council in 1870 underlined the Pope's primacy of jurisdiction and proclaimed in the constitution "Pastor aeternus" his infallibility in decisions on questions of faith and his supreme jurisdiction (all-encompassing jurisdiction) . These two dogmas gave rise to a strong political movement in Germany, headed by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, to implement ideas on a more absolutist state church law in practical politics. This put themselves Catholic and the Center Party organized groups opposed to the papal primacy were trying to get the church.
Section 130a of the Criminal Code was added to the Criminal Code in 1871 . This so-called “ pulpit paragraph ” punished public discussions of state affairs that endangered public peace. The " Jesuit Law " passed in 1872 forced these religious out of the country. The Roman Catholic Church was dismayed. Their resistance was first triggered by the May Laws in Prussia, which were barely veiled laws of war in the conflict with the Church.
May 1873
The law of May 11, 1873 concerned the training and employment of clergy. In this law, every clergyman was required to have a school education, a certain degree of university education through a three-year course ( triennium ) and the passing of a state examination in philosophy, history and literature (the so-called cultural exam ). The notification of the appointment of a clergyman was to be forwarded to the Chief President (notification obligation). The latter should be able to object to the appointment if there are facts against the person to be employed which justify the assumption that he will oppose the state laws or the orders of the authorities issued within their legal competence or disturb the public peace (right of objection).
Another law of May 12, 1873, concerned church disciplinary power and set up a royal court in Berlin for church affairs. Disobedient bishops who did not comply with these regulations could be removed by the court.
In October 1873 in Kevelaer , Bishop Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler of Mainz denounced these regulations in his sermon in front of more than 25,000 people. Since the discussion of state affairs was forbidden by the pulpit paragraph, he was arrested after his speech and given a maximum sentence of two years in a fortress, which sparked violent protests.
May 1874
An imperial law of May 4, 1874, regarding the prevention of the unauthorized exercise of church offices, allowed unruly clergymen certain residence restrictions up to and including expulsion from the country (so-called "expatriation law").
May 1875
The Prussian law of May 31, 1875 forbade all orders or congregations similar to orders, with the exception of those devoted to nursing the sick. In the encyclical Quod numquam , Pope Pius IX. the May Laws of 1873 declared invalid.
Further development
The May Laws were not the end of the Kulturkampf. Other legal norms, mainly the Roman Catholic Church, put resistance to the resistance, such as the so-called “ Bread Basket Act ” with its suspension of state services. However, the bishops could rely on the backing of Pope Pius IX. leave.
After his death, the messed up situation in the Kulturkampf of Pontifex Leo XIII. and a certain yield of Otto von Bismarck corrected. The May Laws, like other regulations, were then obsolete.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.alt-katholisch.de/information/geschichte/die-dogmen.html
- ^ Season of the May Laws lwl.org
- ↑ Michael Sachs: 'Prince Bishop and Vagabond'. The story of a friendship between the Prince-Bishop of Breslau Heinrich Förster (1799–1881) and the writer and actor Karl von Holtei (1798–1880). Edited textually based on the original Holteis manuscript. In: Medical historical messages. Journal for the history of science and specialist prose research. Volume 35, 2016 (2018), pp. 223–291, here: p. 278.