Walter Brandmüller
| His Eminence Walter Brandmüller | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal-Deacon of San Giuliano dei Fiamminghi | |
| Appointed | 20 November 2010 |
| Predecessor | Jan Pieter Schotte |
| Successor | Incumbent |
| Other posts |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination |
26 July 1953 by Joseph Otto Kolb |
| Consecration |
13 November 2010 by Raffaele Farina |
| Created Cardinal |
20 November 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI |
| Rank | Cardinal-Deacon |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
January 5, 1929 Ansbach, Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Previous post |
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| Coat of arms |
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| Styles of Walter Brandmüller | |
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
Walter Brandmüller PhD (born 5 January 1929) is a cardinal of the Catholic Church and president Emeritus of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences.[1]
Brandmüller was born in 1929 in Ansbach, Germany. His father was an officer of Roman Catholic religion and his mother was Protestant. Brandmuller was baptized Protestant and converted to Roman Catholicism in his adolescence. He studied at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich in 1963, he earned a doctorate in history (doctoral thesis: "Das Wiedererstehen katholischer Gemeinden in den Fürstentümern Ansbach und Bayreuth", 'The reestablishment of Catholic parishes in the princedoms of Ansbach and Bayreuth'); and he obtained the "habilitation" in 1967 with the dissertation "Das Konzil von Pavia-Siena (1423–1424)" ('The council of Pavia-Siena').
Priesthood
On 26 July 1953, he was ordained a priest in Bamberg by Joseph Otto Kolb, Archbishop of Bamberg. He did pastoral work in the church of Saint John, Kronach, 1953–1957, and in that of Saint Martin, Bamberg, 1957–1960. Thereafter he did further studies in Munich. He served as Professor of Church History and Patrology at the University of Dillingen from 30 October 1969 until 1971. From 7 October 1970 until his retirement in 1997 he was Professor of Modern and Medieval Church History at the University of Augsburg. From 1971 until 1998, he was parish priest of the Assumption, Walleshausen, Diocese of Augsburg.[1]
A specialist in the history of the councils, he is founder and editor of the journal Annuarium conciliorum historiae (Paderborn, 1969); and of the series "Konziliengeschichte" (1979), which has published 37 volumes so far. He also published the "Handbook of Bavarian Church History" (St. Ottilie, 1991–1999, 3 vols. in 4). From 1981 to 1998, he was a member of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences. He was appointed Honorary Prelate on 17 July 1983. On 22 July 1990, he received the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany from president Richard von Weizsäcker. He served as President of the International Commission for Contemporary Church History from 1998 until 2006. He is a canon of the chapter of the Saint Peter's Basilica since 1997.
From 13 June 1998 until 3 December 2009, he was President of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences. On 20 November 2010 Pope Benedict XVI elevated Brandmüller to the College of Cardinals as Cardinal-Deacon of S. Giuliano dei Fiamminghi. Being over 80 at the time of his elevation, Brandmüller will be unable to vote in a conclave.
Episcopate
As required by canon law for cardinals, he was appointed a bishop. On 13 November 2010, in the church of Santa Maria dell'Anima, he received episcopal consecration from Cardinal Raffaele Farina, S.D.B., Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church, assisted by Ludwig Schick, Archbishop of Bamberg and Giuseppe De Andrea.[1]
Amoris laetitia
Brandmüller, along with three other cardinals, has issued a request to Pope Francis, entitled "Seeking Clarity: A Plea to Untie the Knots in Amoris Laetitia", seeking clarification on various points of doctrine in the Pope's apostolic exhortation, Amoris laetitia. The cardinals had previously submitted dubia in private, but since he did not respond to these, the cardinals followed instructions in the Gospel of Matthew[2] and issued this public letter. The first dubia is regarding reception of the sacraments by the divorced and remarried. The other four ask about fundamental issues of the Christian life, and reference Pope John Paul II's encyclical Veritatis splendor.[3]