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New cardinal claims vindication
Frequently at odds with Vatican

Cardinal Karl Lehmann, whose elevation to the College of Cardinals was the most surprising note of the February consistory, told reporters that he did not regret his opposition to the Holy See on the question of abortion counseling in Germany.

When Pope John Paul II named the Bishop of Mainz as a future cardinal, in a belated announcement on January 28, many observers reacted with surprise. As president of the German bishops’ conference, Cardinal Lehmann had been at odds with the Pope on the role of Church-backed counseling centers, which were providing certificates used to fulfill the legal requirements for abortion. Some German bishops—including Cardinal Lehmann—had resisted the Pope’s directive to cease issuing those certificates. The German prelates argued that by involving themselves in the process of counseling women, the Church-backed centers might discourage abortions. The Pope argued that by filling out the required certificate, the Church agencies were cooperating in the process of procuring abortions.

Responding to reporters’ suggestions that he had been a “rebel” in these discussions, the new cardinal said that such a reading of the situation was “completely foreign to me.” He added, “It is true that I always try to establish dialogue with modern culture, since I see this as an important challenge for the Christian faith.”

Cardinal Lehmann had also provoked headlines by suggesting that Pope John Paul II might eventually resign because of his declining physical health—a suggestion that was widely interpreted as an invitation. But in his remarks to reporters after the consistory, the new cardinal insisted that his remark had been misinterpreted; “I never said that he should resign, but only that he was the sort of man capable of doing so, if he found it physically impossible to continue his service,” he said.

Cardinal Lehmann also said the national bishops’ conferences should play an important role in the Church’s decision-making process. The episcopal conferences, he continued, would not be “in opposition to the Holy See,” but rather a complementary body.

Finally, Cardinal Lehmann rejected the notion that there is some tension between him and his fellow German prelate, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The rumors of such tension, he said, are “fantasies.”

Payments for Nazi-era labor
Church agrees to compensation

Germany’s bishops announced on March 5 that they had paid out compensation to 60 people who had been forced to do work for the Church by the Nazi government during World War II.

Cardinal Karl Lehmann, as president of the bishops’ conference, announced that the elderly Germans each received a one-time payment of $2,200. He said 1,200 of 10,000 laborers who were forced to work by the Nazis had been identified, although most have died. Decisions on payments to another 300 people are still pending.

The German government, industry, and churches have set up a $5 billion Holocaust compensation fund, and the Catholic Church joined that effort last year. “It is our hope that the Catholic Church can help give the compensation fund a new boost,” the cardinal said.

Nazi Germany forced about 10 million foreign civilians and prisoners of war to work in its industry, agriculture, and even church organizations. Under an agreement reached between the United States and Germany, about 900,000 people will receive payments due to start later this year after the German parliament gives final approval to the deal.