A new Prefect of Palaver?

I understand the intrepid Andrea Tornielli says Basel’s Bishop Kurt Koch could be the new Archon of Alliteration … ehem… Administrator of Assonance, … no, that’s not it … the new Capo of Concord… the new Director of Dialogue… ugh… the new President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. 

He would replace Kardinal Kasper.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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10 Comments

  1. Mike says:

    Bishop Koch continued: “The Catholic Church asserts that it is not only a part of the Church of Jesus Christ, but rather that it is the only Church realized concretely.

    “Thus, the document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith recalls that in a Catholic conception, the ecclesial communities that arose from the Reformation cannot be considered as ‘Churches in the proper sense.'”

    2007-07-12

    from Zenit…a good sign perhaps…don’t know much else about him…

  2. Mike says:

    But then he doesn’t mind muslims building minarets in Switzerland…http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/index/Swiss_bishop_comes_out_in_favour_of_minarets.html?cid=5422348

    Not so good!

  3. Mike says:

    The Bishop of Basel, Kurt Koch is 60 years old and the pastor to roughly a million Swiss Catholics and 744 priests, 66 deacons, 36 Religious who are not priests, 499 lay theologians, and 519 parishes. He is also the President of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference.

    He studied theology at the Ludwigs-Maximilian University in Munich where he finished in 1975 and worked as a lay theologian until his ordination to the priesthood in 1982. He worked as a lecturer in dogmatic theology at the Catechetical Institute in Luzern, before finishing his doctorate in 1987 and was made honorary professor for Dogma, Ethic, Liturgy-science and Ecumenical theology at the Theological Faculty of the University of Luzern.In 1996, Pope John Paul II personally ordained him as bishop of Basel. Last January, Bishop Koch wrote an open letter to his flock explaining the Pope’s decision to lift the excommunications hanging over the four Lefebvrist bishops.

    from Anna Arco…also stated that another bishop in the running, Gerhard Mueller, hasn’t been particularly nice to SSPX in his diocese of Regensburg…

  4. robtbrown says:

    In 1996, Pope John Paul II personally ordained him as bishop of Basel. Last January, Bishop Koch wrote an open letter to his flock explaining the Pope’s decision to lift the excommunications hanging over the four Lefebvrist bishops.

    His predecessor, Bp Vogel, was (if memory serves) elected by the cathedral canons. A little over a year later it was discovered that he was a father in the biological sense.

  5. Jordanes says:

    For a second my eyes got a little buggy, and I thought I saw:

    What Would Pres. Bartlett Do?

    He would replace Kardinal Kasper.

  6. trespinos says:

    “He would replace Kardinal Kasper.”

    …and in due course be created Kardinal Koch, a regular Ofella of Oikoumene.

  7. medievalist says:

    Fr Blake, of great fame, carries on his blog this quote from Bishop Koch:

    “Many people have signed a petition for the unqualified acceptance of the council. Right from the start, the expression “unqualified acceptance” irritates me because I don’t know anyone — myself included — to whom it would apply. A few arbitrarily chosen examples will suffice:

    – The council did not abolish Latin in the liturgy. On the contrary, it emphasized that in the Roman Rite, apart from exceptional cases, the use of the Latin language must be maintained. Who among the vocal defenders of the council wishes “unqualified acceptance” of that?

    – The council declared that the Church regards Gregorian Chant as the “music proper to the Roman Rite,” and that it must therefore “be given primary place.” In how many parishes is this implemented “without qualification?”

    – The council expressly requested that governmental authorities voluntarily give up those rights to participation in the selection of bishops, that had arisen over the course of time. Which defender of the council advocates “without qualification” for that?

    – The council described the fundamental nature of the liturgy as the celebration the paschal mystery and the eucharistic sacrifice as “the completion of the work of our salvation.” How can that be reconciled with my experience, made in many different parishes, that the sacrificial understanding of the Mass has been completely eliminated from the liturgical language and the Mass is now understood only as a meal or “the breaking of bread?” In what way can one justify this profound change by reference to the council?”

  8. pfreddys says:

    Bishop Koch seems like a good choice…but lets face it just about anything would be better than Kasper the ecumenical ghost!

  9. Mike says:

    medievalist–intersting, thanks!

  10. Mike says:

    medievalist–interesting, thanks!

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