Paulus Rusch

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Paulus Rusch (born October 4, 1903 in Munich , † March 31, 1986 in Zams / Tyrol ) was Bishop of the Diocese of Innsbruck .

Life

After initially working as a bank clerk, he entered the Canisianum seminary in Innsbruck in 1927 and began studying theology and philosophy. On July 26, 1933, Rusch was ordained a priest in Innsbruck . He then worked as a pastor until he was appointed Regens of the Innsbruck seminary. On October 15, 1938, Rusch was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Innsbruck-Feldkirch (the diocese of Brixen ) and consecrated Titular Bishop of Lycopolis on November 30, 1938 in Innsbruck . He was not recognized by the National Socialists.

Bishop Rusch openly showed sympathy for the Innsbruck moral theologian Johannes Kleinhappl and did not withdraw the missio canonica from him , although church censorship and a publication ban had already been imposed on Kleinhappl .

On September 26, 1964, Rusch was appointed the first diocesan bishop of the newly founded diocese of Innsbruck. He resigned on August 13, 1980. He was followed by Reinhold Stecher by a bishop.

The reconstruction of the church after the Second World War falls into his work . He promoted the expansion of ecclesiastical lay organizations ( Catholic Action ), the establishment of educational institutions (e.g. the House of Encounters in Innsbruck) and new churches. Because of his advocacy for social housing projects, he was nicknamed "Red Bishop". His authoritarian leadership style and the removal of the head of a youth center in Innsbruck led to a lack of understanding and criticism of the bishop's administration among parts of the Tyrolean Catholics. His refusal to open church archives for research between 1938 and 1945 and his lack of support in initiating beatification processes for priests and religious in his diocese who were executed during National Socialist rule also met with criticism.

In response to the question of the anti-Semitic Anderl von Rinn cult, Rusch had the Anderl liturgy deleted from the diocesan calendar in 1954, but in 1971 denied that the underlying legend had been refuted.

In the field of theology, Rusch became known for his special mariological approach when he published his essay Mariological Evaluations , in which he dealt with the historical development of Mariology and especially the position of Mary in theology and popular piety.

Bishop Paul Home in Innsbruck

In 2008, the Bischof-Paulus dormitory named after him was built on Hutterweg .

Publications (selection)

  • Attempt of a theory of synthetically necessary judgments (manuscript), Innsbruck 1930.
  • Roots and beginnings of the allegorical liturgy declaration in Orient and Occident (manuscript), Innsbruck 1935.
  • God wants it. On social justice , Innsbruck / Vienna / Munich 1935, Tyrolia-Verlag.
  • To young Christians , 1946.
  • Growth in spirit. A book of priestly contemplation , 1949, 2nd edition 1962.
  • Young worker where? , 1953.
  • The social shepherd letter of the Austrian bishops , ed. on behalf of the Bishops' Conference and provided with commentary, 1957.
  • Church in the mountains and elsewhere , 1959.
  • Growth in spirit. A book of priestly contemplation , 2nd edition, Innsbruck / Vienna / Munich 1962, Tyrolia-Verlag.
  • Current Bible Questions , 1969.
  • Christian social model for the future , 1976.
  • Time scales - ways of time. Experiences, knowledge, ways , Innsbruck / Vienna 1983, Tyrolia-Verlag, ISBN 3-7022-1473-9 .
  • Jesus our brother. Thematic Life of Jesus Meditations , 1986.

Articles (selection)

Single receipts

  1. Cf. Gerhard Oberkofler : A memory of the moral theologian Johannes Kleinhappl (as of November 16, 2014).
  2. Cf. “Comments on the person DDr. Paulus Rusch ”on geschichte-tirol.com .
  3. See Wolfgang Benz: Handbook of Antisemitism - Events, Decrees, Controversies (Volume 4), Verlag Saur, 2011, p. 3.
  4. Cf. Paulus Rusch: Mariological Assessments , in: Journal for Catholic Theology 85 (2/1963), pp. 129–161.

literature

Web links

predecessor Office successor
--- Bishop of Innsbruck
1964–1980
Reinhold Stecher