Leo Scheffczyk (; 21 February 1920 – 8 December 2005) was a German cardinal and theologian. He was a long-time

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

at the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

and one of the strongest advocates for orthodoxy during the long pontificate of

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. During the 1980s and 1990s, he severely criticized some of his former students, including Leonardo Boff, one of the founders of liberation theology. Scheffczyk likely played a major role in drafting the most controversial documents of John Paul's pontificate, such as '' Ordinatio sacerdotalis'' and '' Ad tuendam fidem''. He was made a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

in 2001. He was regarded as an important thinker in late twentieth-century Catholicism.

Life and career

Scheffczyk was born in the city of Beuthen, then in the Germany of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

(today Bytom,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

). He studied during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

at the famous theological department of the University of Breslau. He moved afterwards to the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. He was ordained as a priest for the

Archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

on 29 June 1947. Immediately, Scheffczyk took to theological work and within a year of his ordination he was already a Theology professor at the seminary in

Königstein im Taunus Königstein im Taunus (, ) is a health spa and lies on the thickly wooded slopes of the Taunus in Hesse, Germany. The town is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Authority, Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. Owing to its advantageous location ...

. He later moved to the more prestigious university at

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

. During that time his theological knowledge was already immensely appreciated by his students, including such notables as Walter Kasper. Whilst he was immensely knowledgeable on such subjects as the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, Scheffczyk was not then considered a likely choice for a promotion into the papal curia. Unlike such theologians as Yves Congar, he remained remote from the proceedings of

Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilic ...

, though he undoubtedly understood its thought very well. His return to the University of Munich in 1965 coincided with long periods of writing on various theological topics. After 1978, Scheffczyk was given the honorific title of

monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

. Though still focusing on writing theology, he did an increasing amount of work in the

, often being consulted by the Prefect, Cardinal Ratzinger, as the Congregation devoted itself to settling a range of theological questions. However, Scheffczyk apparently never had any desire to become a public figure.

Cardinal

, responding to requests made, among others, by Cardinals Ratzinger and Dulles, appointed Scheffczyk a

on 21 February 2001. The title attributed to him was

Cardinal-Deacon A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

of '' San Francesco Saverio alla Garbatella''. Given his advanced age, Scheffczyk successfully requested a dispensation from being consecrated a bishop (as is normally required by modern canonical law).

Mariology

Scheffczyk was a Mariologist of vast scope, and shown in his role as co-editor and major contributor to the ''Marienlexikon'', a work which totals some 4000 pages. In his article on Mariology at the Second Vatican Council, he asserts that in pursuing the goal of unity among Christians, though this was legitimate, nevertheless Marian beliefs and devotions had been understated by some representatives of the Catholic Church. In his view this was the case with the final chapter of the

Dogmatic Constitution ''

Lumen gentium , the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. This dogmatic constitution was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 21 November 1964, following approval by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2 ...

'', dealing with the

. For Scheffczyk, in this Marian chapter: "The coldness and reserve of this document can be explained, as it is openly admitted, by its showing consideration for ecumenical dialogues especially with Protestants. Though justifiable, this method's success should not be overrated and does not prevent theology from saying more."Leo Cardinal Scheffczyk, ''Vaticanum II'', in ''Marienlexikon'', 571 He disagreed with those who considered the document as failing to satisfy conservatives, liberals, Orthodox and Protestants, stating that the document contains tangible elements for a mariological bridging of positions, though he concludes that such as result had to date not been achieved. He regretted, however, that:

The decisive fundamental affirmations (on Mary) are compromises, which narrow the richness of the existing faith and open the way to divergent interpretations, such as the accusation that the Council eliminated the Mediatrix teachings.

Works in English, Selected

Scheffczyk wrote an Epilog to the 1994 re-release of the book ''Die leibhaftige Kirche'' by Ida Friederike Görres. This essay appears as a Foreword to the English translation of this book, ''The Church in the Flesh'', published in 2023.Leo Scheffczyk, “Foreword” in ''The Church in the Flesh'' by Ida Friederike Görres, tr. Jennifer S. Bryson, i – v. Providence, RI: Cluny Media, 202

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Notes

External links

*http://www.leo-cardinal-scheffczyk.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Scheffczyk, Leo 1920 births 2005 deaths 21st-century German cardinals 20th-century German Catholic theologians People from Bytom People from the Province of Upper Silesia Catholic Mariology Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II 20th-century German Roman Catholic priests