Catholic World News News Feature
German bishops ally to succeed Cardinal Lehmann as head of conference February 12, 2008
Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg has been elected president of the German bishops’ conference, succeeding Cardinal Karl Lehmann.
Cardinal Lehmann, who had established a high profile internationally as the head of the German bishops’ conference since 1987, announced in January that he would be stepping down from that post because of his health; he had been hospitalized last year for heart problems. Cardinal Lehmann will remain head of the Mainz diocese.
Archbishop Zollitsch, who has governed the Freiburg archdiocese since 2003, described himself as an ally of Cardinal Lehmann, “theologically and personally so close that you’ll find it hard to notice a difference.”
During his tenure as chief spokesman for the German hierarchy, Cardinal Lehmann found himself in tension with the Holy See on several disputed points, such as allowing Communion for Catholics who are divorced and remarried, priestly celibacy, and the policies of church-run counseling centers regarding abortion referrals.
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