Leo Scheffczyk

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Leo Cardinal Scheffczyk (February 21, 1920 – December 8, 2005) was a long-time theologian at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and one of the strongest forces for orthodoxy during the long pontificate of John Paul II. He severely criticized some of his former students, e.g. Leonardo Boff, during the 1980s and 1990s, who took a liberal stance. What limited evidence is available suggests Scheffczyk likely played a major role in drafting the most controversial documents related to this task such as Ordinatio Sacerdotalis and Ad Tuendam Fidem[1].

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[edit] Life and career

He was born in the city of Beuthen, which is now called Bytom, Poland. He studied during World War II at the famous theological department of the University of Breslau. Moving to the University of Munich, Scheffczyk was ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of Munich on June 29, 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. He later moved to the more prestigious university at Tübingen and during that time his theological knowledge was already immensely appreciated by his students, who include such notables as Walter Kasper. In those days, whilst he was immensely knowledgeable on such subjects as the Virgin Mary, Scheffczyk was not considered a likely possibility for a promotion into the Vatican itself: he indeed remained, unlike such theologians as Yves Congar, remote from the proceedings of Vatican II, even 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. Like Ratzinger, Scheffczyk's theology took a turn towards the more conservative during the late 1960s and 1970s, but Pope Paul VI never considered promoting him and only after Paul died did he become a monsignor.

After this, Scheffczyk, though still focusing on writing theology, did an increasing amount of work in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, often being consulted by Ratzinger as the Congregation devoted itself to settling theological questions temporarily opened by Vatican II and the social upheavals of the 1960s. However, Scheffczyk never apparently had any desire to become a "celebrity"[2] and even when he is believed by Vatican watchers to have "publicly lamented that John Paul had not formally declared the ban on women's ordination infallible".

John Paul II, responding to requests by Cardinal Ratzinger[3] and by Avery Dulles[citation needed], appointed Scheffczyk a cardinal on February 21, 2001. Considering his age, Scheffczyk asked for dispensation not to be ordained a bishop (normally required by canonical law).

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

[edit] Mariology

Scheffczyk was an enyclopedic mariologist; co-editor and major contributor to Marienlexikon,[4] which includes mariological descriptions on some 4000 pages. In his article on mariology during Vatican II, he opines, that in the justified search for unity among Christians, Marian beliefs and devotions were understated by some representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, starting with the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium, the Marian chapter: "the coldness and reserve of this document can be explained, as it is openly admitted, in showing consideration for the ecumenical dialogues especially with Protestants. The success of this justifiable method, should not be overrated. And it does not stop theology, to say more." [5] He disagrees with those who consider the document as not satisfying conservatives, liberals, Orthodox and Protestants, stating that the document contains visible elements for a mariological bridging of positions, a bridging, which he concludes has so far not succeeded. [6] Fact is however according to the cardinal, that

  • The decisive basic statements (on Mary) are compromises, which narrow the richness of the existing faith and invite diverging interpretations,, such as the accusation, the Council eliminated the Mediatrix teachings [7]

[edit] Notes

  • Remigius Bäumer, Leo Scheffczyk (Hrsg.) Marienlexikon Gesamtausgabe, Institutum Marianum Regensburg, 1994, ISBN 3-88096-891-8



  1. ^ Allen, John L. (Jr.); Cardinal Ratzinger: The Vatican's Enforcer of the Faith; page 186; published 2000 by Continuum International Publishing Group
  2. ^ Allen; pages 45-47.
  3. ^ Extract from November 2006 interview with Pope Benedict XVI, on the web here.
  4. ^ Remigius Bäumer, Leo Scheffczyk (Hrsg.) Marienlexikon Gesamtausgabe, Institutum Marianum Regensburg, 1994, ISBN 3-88096-891-8
  5. ^ Leo Cardinal Scheffczyk, Vaticanum II, in Marienlexikon, 571
  6. ^ Leo Cardinal Scheffczyk, Vaticanum II, in Marienlexikon, 571
  7. ^ Leo Cardinal Scheffczyk, Vaticanum II, in Marienlexikon,570

[edit] External links

First-hand information can be found on the Cardinal's website: [[1]]

German Wikipedia Article: [[2]]