Joseph Fred Naumann (born June 4, 1949) is an American prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, serving as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas since 2004. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of St. Louis The Archdiocese of St. Louis ( la, Archidiœcesis Sancti Ludovici) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that covers the City of St. Louis and the Missouri counties of Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Perr ...

in Missouri from 1997 to 2004.

Biography

Early life

Naumann was born in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, to Fred and Louise (née Lukens) Naumann. He graduated from St. Louis Preparatory Seminary South in 1967 and from Cardinal Glennon College in 1971. He then served as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

Florissant, Missouri Florissant () is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, within Greater St. Louis. It is a middle class, second-ring northern suburb of St. Louis. Based on the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 52,533, making it the ...

and completed his

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

studies at Kenrick Seminary in Shrewsbury, Missouri.

Priesthood

Naumann was ordained to the priesthood on May 24 1975 for the Archdiocese of St. Louis. After his ordination, he was assigned as an associate

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of St. Dominic Savio Parish in

Affton Affton is a census-designated place (CDP) in south St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, near St. Louis. The population was 20,417 at the 2020 United States Census. Geography Affton is located at 38°33'4" North, 90°19'25" West (38.551052 ...

, Missouri. Naumann was transferred in 1979 to become associate pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in St. Louis. In 1984, Naumann was placed as a part-time curate at Most Blessed Sacrament Parish in St. Louis, while working as Coordinator of the anti-abortion Committee for the archdiocese. Naumann was sent in 1989 to Ascension Parish in

Normandy, Missouri Normandy is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,287 at the 2020 census. History The city of Normandy is on land once owned by Charles Lucas. Lucas obtained property from the federal government with land g ...

, remaining there for the next five years. He was named

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...

of the archdiocese in 1994.

Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis

On July 8, 1997, Naumann was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis and Titular Bishop of Caput Cilla by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. He received

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on September 3 1997 from Archbishop Justin Rigali, with Bishops Edward O'Donnell and Edward Braxton serving as co-consecrators. As auxiliary bishop, Naumann continued in his role as vicar general. He was named as

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

of the archdiocese in October 2003.

Archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas

John Paul II named Naumann as the

Coadjutor Archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coad ...

of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas on January 7, 2004, serving under Archbishop James Keleher. When Keleher resigned as archbishop on January 15, 2005, Naumann automatically succeeded him. Naumann sits on the committees on

Pro-Life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respon ...

and on Communications within the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

(USCCB) as well as Kenrick-Glennon Seminary Board of Trustees and the Board of Regents for Conception Seminary. He is also Chairman of the Kansas Catholic Conference. On April 21, 2015, Naumann was also appointed

for the Diocese of Kansas City–Saint Joseph. He served in this role until November 4, 2015 when James Vann Johnston Jr. was installed as bishop there. Naumann was elected chairman of the USCCB Committee on

Activities on November 14, 2017, defeating by a narrow margin Cardinal Blase Cupich. Naumann interprets Canon 915 as directing priests to deny communion to Catholic politicians who support

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

and euthanasia. He stated that he tried to persuade

Kathleen Sebelius Kathleen Sebelius (; née Gilligan, born May 15, 1948) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the 21st United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2009 until 2014. As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sebeli ...

, then Governor of Kansas, to change her stand on abortion rights, and after her refusal in doing so, he denied her communion. Naumann's archdiocese later spent $2.45 million in support of an ill-fated proposed amendment to the Kansas constitution to remove its protection of abortion rights, which was defeated by a 59 to 41% margin. After sexual abuse allegations were made against Bishop John Brungardt of the Diocese of Dodge City in February 2021, the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...

in Rome directed Neumann to open a canonical preliminary investigation into them. As of January 2022, the investigation was still ongoing.

References

External links

Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naumann, Joseph Fred 1949 births Living people Clergy from St. Louis Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States Roman Catholic archbishops of Kansas City in Kansas American anti-abortion activists Religious leaders from Missouri