Ludwig Kaas

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Prelate Ludwig Kaas (23 May 1881 – 15 April 1952) was a Roman Catholic priest, and a prominent German politician during the Weimar Republic.

Contents

[edit] Early career

Born in Trier, Kaas was ordained a priest in 1906 and studied history and Canon law in Trier and Rome. 1906 he completed a doctorate in theology and in 1909 he obtained a second doctorate in philosophy. [1] In 1910 he was appointed rector of an orphanage and boarding school near Koblenz. Until 1933, he devoted his spare time to scholarly pursuits [1] and in 1916 he published the book "Ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the Catholic Church in Prussia", [2] demonstrating his expertise in church history, Canon law and his political interests. In 1918 he requested to be sent to a parish, but Michael Felix Korum of Trier refused and instead appointed him professor of canon law at the Trier seminary in 1918. In that position, he published the study "Missing in war and remarriage in state law and canon law", dealing with remarriage in case of spouses missing in war. [3] In 1919 he was offered the chair for canon law at the university of Bonn and was initially inclined to accept it, but as he didn't find the conditions in Bonn to his liking and after consultation with Bishop Korum he refused the offer.

[edit] Entry into politics

Distressed by the revolution, Kaas also decided to engage in politics and joined the Centre Party. In 1919 he was elected to the National Assembly and in 1920 to the Reichstag, of which he was a member until 1933. He was also elected to the Prussian state council, the representation of Prussia's provinces. As a parliamentarian Kaas specialized in foreign policy. [4] From 1926 to 1930 he was a German delegate to the League of Nations.

Kaas considered himself a "Rhenian Patriot" and advocated the creation of a Rhineland state within the framework of the German Reich. In 1923, a year of crisis, he – just like Konrad Adenauer, then mayor of Cologne – fought the separatists that wanted to break away the Rhineland from Germany. Despite French occupation, he sought reconciliation with France and voiced this desire in a famous Reichstag speech on December 5, 1923.

Despite personal reservations towards the Social Democrats, he developed a cordial relationship with President Friedrich Ebert and willingly acknowledged the SPD's accomplishments after 1918. Kaas supported foreign minister Stresemann's policy of reconciliation and denounced nationalist agitation against this policy - agitation he considered to be irresponsible.

[edit] Advisor to the Nuncio Pacelli

In 1920 Eugenio Pacelli, the Papal Nuncio to Bavaria, was also appointed Nuncio to Germany. In view of this new position, he asked Cardinal Bertram of Breslau, to provide him with experts who might serve as a link between the Nuncio in Munich and the Prussian bishops. Bertram suggested Kaas, who in his academic work had developed a special interest in the relations between the state and the Catholic Church. [5] The workload as a professor, a parliamentarian and as advisor to the Nuncio strained Kaas' energies. Though Kaas tried to convince himself that his primary obligation was to his own diocese, it was his academic post that always came out last. He resigned in 1924.

Pacelli was also appointed Nuncio to Prussia and in 1925 moved his office to Berlin. The cooperation between Pacelli and Kaas became even closer. Out of this involvement grew a formal but close and lasting friendship, which remained one of the basic factors throughout Kaas' life. In this position Kaas contributed to the successful conclusion of the concordat negotiations with Prussia in 1929.He described the main advantages of the concordat.[6] After this achievement, Pacelli was called back to the Vatican to be appointed Cardinal Secretary of State. Pacelli asked Kaas, who had accompanied him on his travel, to stay in Rome but Kaas declined because of his ecclesiastical and political duties in Germany. Nonetheless, Kaas would frequently travel to Rome, where he would stay with Pacelli, and experience first hand the new Lateran Treaty, which he published on. [7] In 1931 and 1932 continued as an advisor in negotiations for a Reichskonkordat), that however came to nothing.

[edit] Kaas as party chairman

Without being a candidate, September 1928 Kaas was elected chairman of the Centre Party, in order to mediate the tension between the party's wings and to strengthen their ties with the Bishops. [8] From 1930 onwards, Kaas loyally supported the administration under the Centre's Heinrich Brüning. In 1932 he campaigned for the re-election of Hindenburg, calling him a "venerated historical personality" and "the keeper of the constitution". As his frequent Vatican travels hampered his work as chairman, Kaas was prepared to yield the leadership of the party to Brüning, whom Hindenburg had dismissed Brüning in May, but the former Chancellor declined and asked the prelate to stay.

Kaas and Brüning led the Centre Party into opposition to the new Chancellor, the party renegade Franz von Papen, whom Kaas called the "Ephialtes of the Centre Party".[9] Kaas tried to re-establish a working parliament by cooperation with the National Socialists.

When Adolf Hitler became Chancellor on 30 January 1933 based on a coalition between NSDAP, DNVP and independent conservatives which excluded the Centre, Kaas felt betrayed. In the campaign leading up to the election on 5 March, Kaas vigorously campaigned against the new government, but after the government parties succeeded in attaining a majority, he visited his nemesis Vice Chancellor Papen, offering to put an end to their old animosities.

Later that month, from 15 March, he was the main advocate supporting the Hitler administration's Enabling Act in return for certain constitutional and, allegedly [10] ecclesiatic guarantees. Hitler responded positively via Papen. On the 21st and 22nd of March the Centre leadership negotiated with Hitler on the conditions and reached an agreement. A letter, in which Hitler would confirm the agreement in writing, was promised by the government but never delivered.

Kaas - as much as the other party leaders - was aware of the doubtful nature of any guarantees, and, when the Centre fraction assembled on 23 March to decide on their vote, he still advised his fellow party members to support the bill, given the "precarious state of the fraction", saying: "On the one hand we must preserve our soul, but on the other hand a rejection of the Enabling Act would result in unpleasant consequences for fraction and party. What is left is only to guard us against the worst. Were a two-thirds majority not obtained, the government's plans would be carried through by other means. The President has acquiesced in the Enabling Act. From the DNVP no attempt of relieving the situation is to be expected."

A considerable group of parliamentarians however opposed the chairman's course, among whom were the former Chancellors, his nemesis Brüning and Wirth and former minister Stegerwald. Brüning called the Act the "most monstrous resolution ever demanded of a parliament", and was also sceptical about Kaas' efforts: "The party has difficult years ahead, no matter how it would decide. Sureties for the government fulfilling its promises have not been given. Without a doubt, the future of the Centre Party is in danger and once it is destroyed it cannot be revived again."

The opponents also argued in regard to Catholic social teaching that ruled out participating in an act of revolution. The proponents however argued that a "national revolution" had already occurred with Hitler's appointment and the presidential decree suspending basic rights, and that the Enabling Act would contain revolutionary force and move the government back to a legal order. Both groupings were not unaffected by Hitler's self-portrayal as a moderate seeking co-operation, as given on the Day of Potsdam of 21 March, as against the more revolutionary SA led by Ernst Röhm. Even Brüning thought it to be "decisive which groups of the NSDAP will be in power in the future. Will Hitler's power increase or will he fail, that is the question."

In the end the majority of Centre parliamentarians supported Kaas' proposal. Brüning and his followers agreed to respect party discipline by also voting in favour of the bill.

On 23 March, the Reichstag assembled at midday under turbulent circumstances. Some SA men served as guards, while others crowded outside the building, both to intimidate any opposing views. Hitler's speech, which emphasised the importance of Christianity to the German culture, was aimed particularly at assuaging the Centre Party's sensibilities and almost verbatim incorporated Kaas' requested guarantees. Kaas gave a speech, voicing the Centre's support for the bill amid "concerns put aside", while Brüning notably remained silent. When parliament assembled again in the evening, all parties except the Social Democrats, represented by their chairman Otto Wels, voted in favour of the Enabling Act. This vote was a major step in the institution of the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler and is remembered as the prime example of a democracy voting for its own demise.

Because of Kaas' request for guarantees and because of his later involvement in the Reichskonkordat negotiations, it is sometimes alleged that Kaas' assent was part of a quid pro quo of interests between the Holy See and the new regime. His actions might very well be influenced by reflections on how to further and protect the Church's interests and how to obtain the long-desired objective of a nationwide concordat, needed even more given the anti-Catholic stance of the NSDAP. There is however no evidence for involvement of the Holy See in these dealings.

Kaas had planned to travel to Rome since the beginning of the year, to discuss a conflict in Eupen and Malmedy, formerly German towns now belonging to Belgium, where priests had been arrested. This trip had been postponed by the political events - first Hitler's appointment, then the March elections, then by the Enabling Act -, but on 24 March, one day after the decision, Kaas finally managed to leave for Rome. During this stay, Kaas explained to Pacelli the Centre's rationale for acceeding to the Enabling Act. On 30 March, he was called back to Germany to take part in sessions of the working committee, that had been promised during the Enabling Act negotiations. This committee was chaired by Hitler and Kaas and was supposed to inform about further legislative measures, but it only met three times: on 31 March, on 2 April (followed by a private talk between Kaas and Hitler) and on 7 April. On 5 April Kaas also reported to the foreign office about his talk in the Eupen-Malmedy affair.

[edit] Kaas and the Reichskonkordat

Kaas and Papen traveled together to Rome and had discussions on the train. After their arrival in Rome, Kaas was received first by Pacelli on 9 April. One day later, Papen had a morning meeting with Pacelli and presented Hitler's offer. Cardinal Pacelli subsequently authorized Kaas, who was known for his expertise in Church-state relations, to negotiate the draft of the terms with Papen. Von Papen had assured Kaas, that a concordat with the new government was a sure thing. Kaas[11] has worked on it for over ten years. Now Hitler offered it. Brüning, who in meeting a 1931 meeting with Cardinal Pacelli had angrily rejected a concordat at his watch, and basically broke relations with Pacelli, [12] suggests in his memoirs that there was an implicit deal between Kaas position on the enabling law and the concordat. The historian Scholder opines, Kaas would have been an idiot, had he not agreed to look into Hitler's readiness for a concordat [13]

These discussions also prolonged his stay in Rome and raised questions in Germany as to a conflict of interest, since as a German parliamentarian he was advising the Vatican. On 5 May Kaas resigned from his post as party chairman, and pressure from the German government forced him to withdraw from visibly participating in the concordat negotiations. Though allegedly the Vatican tried to hold back the exclusion of Catholic clergy and organisations from politics, Pacelli and later Pope Pius XII was known to strongly favour the withdrawal of all priests from active politics, which is Church position in all countries even today. In the end, the Vatican accepted the restriction to the religious and charitable field. Even before the Roman negotiations had been concluded, the Centre Party yielded to increasing government pressure and dissolved itself on, this excluding German Catholics from participating in political life. 6 July.

It is alleged that Pius XI favored Hitler as a "bulwark against Communism" and because of this signed the Reichskonkordat, through which Hitler gained international respectability. Relevant documents have only been made available by the Vatican since 2003, yet there is as of now no evidence to this. On the other hand it has been argued that the Pope stood before the alternative of either signing a concordat or undergoing another Kulturkampf by not giving the Catholics a legal basis to defend themselves. Later on, the concordat was the basis for formal complaints about the Third Reich's measures against the Church.

Kaas and Pacelli, "on account of the exclusion of Catholics as a political party from the public life of Germany, found it all the more necessary that the Holy See assure government guarantees to maintain their position in the life of the nation" [14] Hitler, had from the beginning no other aim, than a war of exermination of the Church [15] Pacelli, now Pope Pius XII, met the German Cardinals March 6, 1939, three days after his election. He referred to the constant Nazi attacks against the Church, and the Nazi responses to his protests: They always responded, "sorry, but we cannot act because the concordat is not legally binding yet". But after its ratification, things did not get any better, they got worse. The experiences of the past years are not encouraging. [16] Why does the Church continue diplomatic relations with Germany under such circumstances? asked the previous Pius XI his Cardinal Pacelli, who replied, breaking up is easy, but what then?: What do we do afterwards, how do we connect to the bishops and faithful in Germany? If the Nazis break relations, fine. But not us. Breaking is easy, building up difficult. God only knows, what concessions we have to make, in order to reconnect later. But if the government want to break, in God's name, so be it. [17]

The persecution of the Catholic Church had effects as well. Cardinal Schulte of Cologne, seconded by Cardinal Innitzer of Vienna, tells the Pope, that the public interest in Church matters has increased, the churches are filled to the last seat, to which Pius XII responds: Persecution has such effects, we should not loose courage. [18]

Clearly, the Reichskonkordat of Ludwig Kaas, like so many events in this turbulent period, was hotly debated from its very beginning by Catholics and non-Catholics alike. After its ratification, Kaas stayed in de facto Vatican exile. He, who before had written on so many subjects, virtually stopped writing and largely avoided public utterances. Yet, 75 years later, anno 2008, the Kaas concordat still regulates the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the German state in all its aspects, as the undisputed basis of consensus. At issue was and is not so much the content of the Reichskonkordat, for which Kaas deserves full credit, but the timing and circumstances of the 1933 concordat. For its full text see: [19]

[edit] Kaas at the Vatican

Kaas was appointed papal protonotary on 20 March 1934 and canon of the Basilica of Saint Peter on 6 Aril, 1935. Meanwhile, The dioceses of Trier stripped Kaas of his position in the cathedral chapter of Trier. On 20 August 1936, Kaas was appointed Economicus and Secretary of the Holy Congregation of the Fabric of St. Peter. In this position he was responsible for the archaeological excavation of the tomb of Saint Peter in 1950.

[edit] Kaas and Pius XII

Madre Pascalina Lehnert wrote:

Talent, vision, and an excellent knowledge of the situation made Kaas a great advisor and incalculable helper. He was a fast learner, a hard and reliable worker with good judgement. The Nuncio, Cardinal and Holy Father appreciated him very much. Again and again I heard the highest praises from Pope Pius XII. The Monsignore knew, that the Holy Father had special esteem for him and he told me how much this knowledge fulfils him. [20]

In 1929, Kaas had published a volume containing virtually all the speeches of Nuncio Pacelli during his time in Germany. The publication, reflecting his attitudes towards Pacelli, includes a warm introduction, describing Pacelli as highly intelligent, extraordinary as a person, priest and diplomat. “Angelus not nuntius, … his impressive personality, his sacerdotal words, the popularity he generated in public meetings [21] Clearly, Kaas was close to Pacelli, whom he greatly admired. A German Jesuit, Robert Leiber, Secretary to Pacelli, was because of his position also close to him, and so the two Germans occasionally developed rivalries, which the Holy Father with his sensitivity always knew to iron out. [22]

On March 2, 1939, Eugenio Pacelli was elected Pope and decided to accelerate the excavations under St. Peter's Basilica [23] Kaas was now in charge of a Papal priority, which he carried out with due speed. The preliminary results, which Pope Pius XII announced at the Christmas Message of the Holy Year 1950, were a mayor triumph for the undertaking and for Ludwig Kaas [24] The likelihood, that Saint Peter was resting below the Papal altar of the Basilica had increased dramatically. Not all questions were solved, and Kaas continued excavations after 1950, despite of an emerging illness.

Ludwig Kaas died in Rome in 1952, aged 70. He was first buried in the cemetery of Campo Santo in the Vatican. Later, Pope Pius XII ordered the body of his friend to be put to rest in the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica. Ludwig Kass is thus the only Monsignor who rests in the vicinity of virtually all Popes of the twentieth century. To succeed him in his work, Pope Pius XII appointed a women, Professor Margherita Guarducci, another Vatican novelty. [25]

[edit] References

  1. ^ See list of publications below
  2. ^ Die geistl. Gerichtsbarkeit der kath. Kirche in Preußen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart mit bes. Berücksichtigung des Wesens der Monarchie, 2 Bde., Stuttgart 1915-16, ND Amsterdam 1965;
  3. ^ Kriegsverschollenheit und Wiederverheiratung nach staatl. und kirchl. Recht, Paderborn 1919
  4. ^ Biographie: Ludwig Kaas, 1881-1952
  5. ^ Klaus Scholder, Die Kirchen und das Dritte Reich, Ullstein, 1986, p. 81
  6. ^ Ludwig Kaas, Eugenio Pacelli, Erster Apostolischer Nuntius beim Deutschen Reich, Gesammelte Reden, Buchverlag Germania, Berlin, 1930 ……..p.18-19.
  7. ^ Der Konkordatstyp des faschistischen Italiens, in: Zeitschrift für ausländ. öffentl. Recht und Völkerrecht III/1, 1933, 488-522
  8. ^ Klaus Scholder, Die Kirchen und das Dritte Reich, Ullstein, 1986, p.185
  9. ^ Klaus Scholder, Die Kirchen und das Dritte Reich, Ullstein, 1986, p.175
  10. ^ see Brüning moemoirs
  11. ^ Klaus Scholder, Die Kirchen und das Dritte Reich, Ullstein, 1986, p.310
  12. ^ Klaus Scholder, Die Kirchen und das Dritte Reich, Ullstein, 1986, p.192
  13. ^ Klaus Scholder, Die Kirchen und das Dritte Reich, Ullstein, 1986, p. 311
  14. ^ Oscar Halecki, Pius XII,New York, 1951, p.73.
  15. ^ Oscar Halecki, Pius XII,New York, 1951, p.74
  16. ^ Proces Verbal de la 1. conference, Lettres de Pie XII aux Eveques Allemands, Vatican, 1967, p.416
  17. ^ Proces Verbal de la 2. conference, Lettres de Pie XII aux Eveques Allemands, Vatican, 1967, p.424-425
  18. ^ Proces Verbal de la 2. conference, Lettres de Pie XII aux Eveques Allemands, Vatican, 1967, p.428
  19. ^ Joanne M. Restrepo SJ. Concordata Regnante Sanctissimo Domino Pio PP.XI. Inita Pontificia Universita Gregoriana, Roma, 1934
  20. ^ Lehnert, Pascalina Ich durfte Ihm Dienen, Erinnerungen an Papst Pius XII. Naumann, Würzburg, 1986,p.28-29
  21. ^ Ludwig Kaas, Eugenio Pacelli, Erster Apostolischer Nuntius beim Deutschen Reich, Gesammelte Reden, Buchverlag Germania, Berlin, 1930 ……..p.24.
  22. ^ Lehnert, Pascalina Ich durfte Ihm Dienen, Erinnerungen an Papst Pius XII. Naumann, Würzburg, 1986, p.28-29
  23. ^ Domenico Cardinale Tardini, Pio XII, Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana, 1960, p.76
  24. ^ Domenico Cardinale Tardini, Pio XII, Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana, 1960, p.76
  25. ^ Lehnert, Pascalina Ich durfte Ihm Dienen, Erinnerungen an Papst Pius XII. Naumann, Würzburg, 1986, p.59

[edit] List of publications

Ludwig Kaas was a scholar and prolific writer, addressing a wide range of issues in Latin or German concerning marital law, education reform, moral and systematic theology, canon law, prisoners of war, the speeches of Eugenio Pacelli, historical issues, policy issues of the Weimar Republic and the Reichskonkordat. Some publications of Kaas were published after his death.


  • Ojetti, In ius Pianum et antepianum ex decreto »Netemere« commentarii, Romae 1908, in: Pastor bonus (Pb) 21, 1908/09, 138 f.;
  • K. Vollert, Sind in Preußen Kirchendiener Staatsbeamte?, in: Pb 21, 1908/09, 352 f.;
  • L. Wouters, Commentarius in Decretum »Netemere«, Amsteldolami 1909, in: Pb 21, 1908/09, 353;
  • J. B. Sägmüller, Lehrbuch des kath. Kirchenrechts, Freiburg 21909, in: Pb 22, 1909/10, 87-89;
  • Th. v. d. Acker, Decreti »Ne temere« de sponsalibus et matrimonio interpretatio, Buscoduci 1909, in: Pb 22, 1909/10, 393 f.;
  • Nova decreta de sponsalibus et matrimonio cum declarationibus authenticis, ed. C.
  • Kiefer, Eystadii 1910, in: Pb 22, 1909/10, 394;
  • Christl. Erziehungslehre in Zitaten, Freiburg 1909, in: Pb 22, 1909/10, 394;
  • L. Wouters, De systemate morali dissertatio ad usum scholarum composita, Gulpen 1909, in: Pb 22, 1909/10, 394;
  • B. Ojetti, De Romana Curia, Romae 1910, in: Pb 23, 1910/11, 309 f.;
  • H. Adams, Der irrende Brandstifter, Meckenheim-Oberkassel 1910, in: Pb 23, 1910/11, 444;
  • D. M. Valensise, Super Systema Theologiae Moralis, Neapoli 1908, in: Pb 23, 1910/11, 499;
  • F. Heiner, Der kirchl. Zivilprozeß, Köln 1910, in: Pb 23, 1910/11, 500;
  • M. Leitner, Die Verlobungs- und Eheschließungsform nach dem Dekrete Ne temere und der Konstitution Provida, Regensburg 1910, in: Pb 23, 1910/11, 568;
  • F. Schaub, Die neuesten Bestimmungen auf dem Gebiet des kath. Eherechts, Regensburg 1911, in: Pb 23, 1910/11, 753;
  • A. Backofen, Summa Iuris Ecclesiastici Publici, Romae 1910, in: Pb 23, 1910/11, 753 f.;
  • A. De Smet, De Sponsalibus et Matrimonio, Brugis 21911, in: Pb 24, 1911/12, 110 f.;
  • Die geistl. Gerichtsbarkeit der kath. Kirche in Preußen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart mit bes. Berücksichtigung des Wesens der Monarchie, 2 Bde., Stuttgart 1915-16, ND Amsterdam 1965;
  • J. Freisen, Verfassungsgeschichte der kath. Kirche Deutschlands in der Neuzeit, Leipzig/Berlin 1916 in: ZSavRG Kan. Abt. 6, 1916, 451- 465;
  • Das Trierer Apostol. Vikariat Ehrenbreitstein (1816-1824). Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte und zum Recht der Sedes vacans: ZSavRG Kan. Abt. 7, 1917, 135-283;
  • W. v. Hörmann zu Hörbach, Zur Würdigung des vatikan. Kirchenrechts, Innsbruck 1917: Deutsche Literaturzeitung 38, 1917, 1179-1183, 1211-1215;
  • Literatur zum neuen kirchl. Gesetzbuch, in: Pb 30, 1917/18, 369-372;
  • M. Laros, Der Intuitionsbegriff bei Pascal und seine Funktion in der Glaubensbegründung, Düsseldorf 1917, in: Pb 30, 1917/18, 381 f.;
  • Literatur zum neuen kirchl. Gesetzbuch, in: Pb 30, 1917/18, 555-560;
  • A. Göpfert, Ergänzungen zur Moraltheologie, Paderborn 71918, in: Pb 31, 1918/19, 328;
  • I. Fahrner, Das Eherecht im neuen kirchl. Gesetzbuch, Straßburg 1918, in: Pb 31, 1918/19, 328;
  • A. Knecht, Grundriß des Eherechts, Freiburg 1918, in: Pb 31, 1918/19, 329;
  • A. Arndt, Die Zensuren latae sententiae nach neuestem Recht, Innsbruck 1918, in: Pb 31, 1918/19, 329;
  • J. Mausbach, Naturrecht und Völkerrecht, Freiburg 1918, in: Pb 31, 1918/19, 329 f.;
  • Kriegsverschollenheit und Wiederverheiratung nach staatl. und kirchl. Recht, Paderborn 1919;
  • Staat und Kirche im neuen Deutschland. Rede, gehalten auf dem Trierer Katholikentag am 12. Okt. 1919, Trier 1919; Das Zentrum im neuen Deutschland. Rede in der Zentrums-Versammlung zu Trier am 1. Mai 1919, Trier 1919;
  • Die rechtl. Lage der kath. Kirche im nachrevolutionären Deutschland, in: Diözesansynode des Bistums Trier 28.-30.9. 1920, Trier 1920, 27-33;
  • Schlußwort, in: ebd., 101-104;
  • Außenpolitik des Reiches, in: Georg Schreiber (Hrsg.), Polit. Jahrbuch 1925, Mönchengladbach 1925, 11-34, ebd. 1926, 11-46, ebd. 1927/28, 11-62;
  • Die Kirche im heutigen Deutschland, ihre Lage und Aufgabe: Abendland 2, 1926, 355-358;
  • Der Völkerbundsgedanke als ethisches Problem, in: Deutschland und der Völkerbund, hrsg. von der Deutschen Liga für Völkerbund, Berlin 1926, 50-56;
  • Die Kirche im heutigen Deutschland, ihre Lage und ihre Aufgabe, in: 66. Generalversammlung der Katholiken Deutschlands zu Dortmund 3.-6. Sept. 1927, hrsg. vom Generalsekretariat des Zentral-Komitees, Dortmund 1927, 82-91;
  • Der Dienst am europäischen Gedanken, in: Nord und Süd 50, 1927, 202-206; Konkordatsrede, in: Germania Nr. 597/598 vom 24./25. Dez. 1928;
  • Commission de Constatation et de Conciliation, in: Zeitschrift für ausländ. öffentl. Recht und Völkerrecht I/1, 1929, 132-154;
  • Michael Felix Korum, in: StL 5III, 1929, 580-583;
  • Von der kulturellen Sendung der Katholiken im Volksganzen, in: Die 68. Generalversammlung der Deutschen Katholiken zu Freiburg i. Br. vom 28. Aug. bis 1. Sept. 1929. Hrsg. vom Sekretariat des Lokalkomitees, Freiburg o. J., 246-259;
  • Zur völkerrechtl. Sonderstellung der Rheinlande nach der Räumung, in: Europ. Gespräche. Hamburger Monatshefte für auswärtige Politik 7, 1929, 222-231;
  • Eugenio Pacelli. Erster Apostol. Nuntius beim Deutschen Reich, in: Eugenio Pacelli. Gesammelte Reden. Ausgew. und eingel. von Ludwig Kaas, Berlin 1930, 7-24;
  • Der Völkerbund als deutsche Aufgabe, in: Karl Anton Schulte (Hrsg.), Nationale Arbeit. * * Das Zentrum und sein Wirken in der deutschen Republik, Berlin 1930, 119-140; Görres-Gesellschaft und kath. Wissenschaft, in: Pb 42, 1931, 81-82;
  • Zur Einführung, in: Walter Hagemann, Deutschland am Scheideweg. Gedanken zur Außenpolitik, Freiburg 1931, V-VII;
  • Nicht rückwärts - vorwärts! Rede, Berlin 1931; Deutsche Außenpolitik, in: Oscar Müller (Hrsg.), Krisis. Ein polit. Manifest, Weimar 1932, 51-61;
  • Ein Brief des Zentrumsführers Kaas, in: Saarbrücker Landes- Zeitung 14 (1933) Ausg. Nr. 28 vom 29.1. 1933;
  • Der Konkordatstyp des faschistischen Italiens, in: Zeitschrift für ausländ. öffentl. Recht und Völkerrecht III/1, 1933, 488-522;
  • Nuntius Eugenio Pacelli (1917-1929), in: Die Ostschweiz Nr. 158 vom 4.4. 1949, S. 1 u. Nr. 160 vom 5.4. 1949, S. 1 f.;
  • Porta Santa. Mit einem Geleitwort von S. Exz. Prälat Ludwig Kaas, Ökonom der Erzbasilika St. Peter und erklärenden Texten von H. Riedlinger, Luzern 1951;
  • Prefazione, in: Esplorazioni sotto la Confessione di San Pietro in Vaticano, eseguite negli anni 1940-1949. Relazione a cura di B. M. Apollony Ghetti, A. Ferrua S. J., E. Josi, E. Kirschbaum S. J. Prefazione di Mons. L. Kaas, Bd. I, Città del Vaticano 1951, VII-XI.

Kaas Publications after his death:

  • Tagebuch 7.-20. April 1930. Ludwig Kaas Aus dem Nachlaß von Prälat Ludwig Kaas hrsg. von Rudolf Morsey, in: Stimmen der Zeit 166, 1960, 422-430;
  • Briefe zum Reichskonkordat. Ludwig Kaas/Franz v. Papen. Hrsg. von Rudolf Morsey, in: Stimmen der Zeit 167, 1961, 11-30;
  • Der Weg des Zentrums« vom 5. April 1933, in: Josef Becker, Zentrum und Ermächtigungsgesetz 1933: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte 9, 1961, 195-210;
  • Erste Jahreswende unter Hitler. Ein unbekannter Briefwechsel zwischen Ludwig Kaas und dem Abt von Grüssau. Zum 100. Geburtstag des Zentrumspolitikers am 23. Mai 1981, von Ludwig Volk, in: Stimmen der Zeit 199, 1981, 314-326.